Girl Next Door
by irish-surf-chick
Summary: Set after the finale of 2nd Season. Luke & Lorelai haven't made up yet but what happens when Lorelai gets a new neighbour that takes an interest in Luke? Can Lorelai deal with another woman taking her place? JavaJunkie! FINAL CHAPTER UPDATED! Read & REVIE
1. Not Normal

_Hey guys...what can I say, I have had a JJ fic in mind for a while now. And yesss technically I don't have enough time to write anything besides BTR because of university but I was in the moment what can I say. I'm predicting this to be a 8 part fiction...but I've been so wrong in the past that you should just ignore that haha._

_It's set at the end of the second season after the wedding when Luke and Lorelai aren't talking and Rory is away in Washington. Y'all remember it don't you? Thought so !_

_Disclaimer: No I don't own these characters, that would be Amy Sherman-Palladino, Warner Brothers and co... I'd like to own Luke tho...and Lauren Graham but hey I don't...yet...lol kidding!_

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**1 -Not Normal**

It had been four weeks since Lorelai had made her last attempt to apologise to Luke for their fight after the accident with Rory and Jess. Then the whirlwind mistake that was her and Chris had started…and soon ended. After the wedding Sookie had left for her honeymoon, Rory had left for Washington and the only other person she could turn to wasn't speaking to her. Lorelai pretended she was fine, pretended she didn't miss her daughter as much as she did, pretended that her best friend ignoring her didn't hurt but truthfully it was what hurt the most. Her new morning routine was Weston's or else she had something at the Inn instead. Although coffee didn't seem to taste as good when her grumpy diner owner wasn't serving it.

* * *

'_I hate Mondays',_ Lorelai thought when she opened the front door and walked the few steps to get her mail before leaving for the Inn. When she got to the mail box she spotted the moving van parked next to Beanie Morrison's old place, a man and a woman carried some boxes from it towards the house. 

"Hey doll check out the new broad" Babette said putting down a can of polish, a cloth and one of her garden gnomes before walking over from her garden.

"Who's moving in?" Lorelai asked curiously.

"I heard from Patty that she's a writer from New York"

"Oh cool, Rory will love that"

"I saw her as she was driving up, she looks friendly"

"Married?"

"Nope single, although whoever that is helping in with the boxes has a great ass"

'_Well at least I'm not the only young single woman now'_ Lorelai thought to herself, even though she knew there were other single women in town the past few weeks since Rory had left she had never felt more alone. Sookie was back from her honeymoon but her and Jackson were busy being newlyweds so she didn't want to bother them.

"Cool well it'll be nice to have a new face around around the place"

"You're tellin' me. So how's Rory?"

"Rory's great, learning how to rule the world in Washington"

"She's gonna go far that girl"

"I think so." Lorelai said smiling proudly as she thought about her daughter.

"Ah the whole town is rooting for her"

"She knows that, Anyway I gotta get to the Inn"

"You going to the diner today?" Babette hinted as she had done ever since the town had noticed Lorelai's sudden avoidance of the diner and equal interest in Weston's coffee.

"No not today"

"Aw Luke's been as grumpier than ever since you two have stopped talking. Are you sure you kids can't work it out?" Babette said, only looking out for the two of them. The whole town had been suffering since their fall out; Luke had been grumpy with everyone, well much more so than usual.

"We'll see, anyway see you later Babette" Lorelai said taking another glance over at her new neighbour before she flicked through her mail. _'Bills…great like my mood isn't bad enough'_

* * *

Luke walked around the diner, lifting up the empty plates and cups, wiping down the tables and going through his usual routine…his new usual routine. It had been four weeks, twenty-eight long days since Lorelai had set foot in his diner. He'd see her at Weston's, walking by the diner, at the town meetings or just around town and every time he saw her he wanted to apologise for how he treated her. More than anything he wanted to invite her back to the diner. His new routine without her was much more boring when he knew he wouldn't see her that day, knew she wouldn't be purposely trying to annoy him or just begging for coffee as usual. He was jealous of Weston's, that she graced them with her presence everyday, probably flirted to get coffee like she would have done with him if he hadn't have been such an idiot. His stubbornness was a blessing and a curse, this time it had been a curse. He knew that from almost the second she had left the diner four weeks ago after saying _'I want Luke back'_He was kicking himself for not swallowing his pride and forgiving her. Since that day he'd probably read the letter she wrote him a thousand times and even tried to start writing one to her himself but he'd never been one with words so he never finished it. All that resulted from his attempts was a bin full of scrunched up paper. 

Usually when he flicked the sign to 'Closed' on the diner he would keep the door unlocked as he cleaned up because Lorelai didn't tend to pay attention to the sign and would walk in anyway. He pretended to be bothered by her late visits but they both knew he liked them and he just needed to act like a grump to keep in sync with the reputation he was known for. These days he would lock the door when he put up the 'Closed' sign because he knew she wouldn't be coming by anytime soon. Although that night when he'd finally got rid of Kirk and was going to lock the door he saw Lorelai walk into Doose's down the street and somewhere inside he decided that he would leave it open and wait. _'Maybe if she see's it's still open she'll come in and I can apologise' _he thought, a small piece of him still feeling optimistic.

After a few minutes he decided to bite the bullet and go into the market and "accidentally" bump into her… just like they had done weeks ago but he'd been so obstinate that he'd left her standing there. Left her standing in the market with that hurt look on her face that had cut through him like a knife; but at that time he was still angry and hurt.

Pulling the door open he didn't notice the woman walking into the diner until he'd nearly knocked her over.

"Woah" the tall brunette said when she stumbled off the step.

"God are you okay I never saw you" Luke said putting his hands on her arms to steady her and help her back up.

"Mmm a girl loves to hear that"

"Sorry" he said sheepishly before taking a second to notice the woman in front of him. She was petite with shoulder length chocolate brown hair and brown eyes. He assumed she was new to the town as he hadn't seen her around…although the past month he hadn't really been paying much attention to recent town events.

"Do you work here?" she asked,

"Well I own it but yeah"

"Oh well in that case I will forgive you for nearly _killing_ me if I can get some coffee?"

"Uhh sure, I'm closed but it's the least I can do" Luke said, taking a last glance over at Doose's before he turned and walked back into the diner, his optimism going out the window at that point.

"I'm Jennifer by the way" she introduced herself.

"Luke" he replied.

"Coincidence that this is called Luke's?" she inquired, looking around at the diner. It wasn't much for its interior design and looked a mix between a diner and an old hardware store but it seemed comfortable, rustic in a cute small town way that she had been so eager to experience.

"I started it, used to be a hardware store"

"Explains the sign outside" Jennifer commented as Luke poured her some coffee.

"So you don't have a coffee maker at home?" Luke asked, wondering why she had come by so late…he only had room for one coffee addict in his life, well her and her daughter.

"Well I just moved in and I haven't unpacked yet so I figured I'd see what the local coffee is like, and now I don't think I'll need to unpack, this is great"

"Good so I'm forgiven then?" he said, smirking slightly.

"You are" she said shooting him a smile. Already deciding to come for breakfast the next morning, good coffee and this Luke was very cute, a little rough around the edges but she found it sexy.

* * *

Lorelai who had just left Doose's with a bag of junk food for the movie marathon she had planned all day was walking to Weston's to get some coffee before she went home. As she walked down the street she couldn't resist looking in at the diner, thinking that just seeing Luke wiping down the counter as he usually did at that time of night would ease her mind…show her that not everything had changed. Although the scene in the diner had quite the opposite effect on her, she saw Luke behind the counter talking to some woman at the counter …smiling at some woman at the counter. _'He doesn't care…why would he; I'm just a customer'_ she thought as she felt her stomach twist. She didn't like that there was a woman there even though the diner was closed, she thought he only did that with her. She didn't like him smiling at _her_…he was supposed to be grumpy and down like she was. If anyone else knew what she was feeling they would think she was jealous but Lorelai being Lorelai would never admit it_. 'Why would I be jealous? We're just friends…actually we're not even that anymore'_ she thought looking back inside at Luke before quickly turning around and started walking home. Suddenly not in the mood for coffee, it just reminded her of him anyway.

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You know what to do...oh yes baby read and review ;-) 


	2. Sharing Mr Fixit

_A/N Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews so far. I'm glad I started this new fic afterall )_

_Thanks to Emma for beta-ing this for me, cheers mate!_

_Anyway I don't like to ramble too much at the start of these chapters so enjoy..._

_Eta: Was fixing this chapter, haha missed the little 'Lauren' mixed in there so had to change it! My fingers were typing faster than my mind was working apparently!_**

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**2 – Sharing Mr Fix-it**

Luke had seen someone in the corner of his eye walking past the diner but hadn't looked up to further investigate, and so missed Lorelai's sad gaze through the window. Like Lorelai this new woman Jennifer liked to talk and even though he wasn't in a very chatty mood he walked around the counter and sat on the stool next to hers. The past four weeks the only people he spoke to regularly were his suppliers, Kirk and Jess…which is probably another reason why he had missed Lorelai so much.

"So how long have you lived here?" Jennifer asked.

"All my life"

"Aww you're a townie"

"I'm not a townie" he grumbled but smiled slightly when he saw she was teasing.

"People here are friendly, do you know Babette?"

"Everyone know's Babette."

"Well she's very nice…little quirky, she introduced me to all her gnomes this afternoon when I went over to meet her"

"Yes she is quite proud of Pierpont" Luke replied, remembering back to when Jess had first moved there and stolen the gnome's pipe.

"You know the names, that's cute"

"So where exactly did you move to?" he asked curiously.

"Right next door to Babette, Beanie Morrison's old place apparently…you know it?"

"Yeah I know it" _'Next door to Lorelai'_

"So what do you do?"

"I'm a sports writer" she said, taking a last sip of coffee.

"Wow what sport do you follow?" he asked, his interest level growing.

"Baseball mostly, then basketball and some football"

"Yankees fan?" he asked quickly.

"God no, red sox all the way"

"Good" he grinned.

"You follow baseball?" she asked and smiled when he poured her another cup of coffee, obviously liking the sudden subject change.

"Oh yeah, I mean I don't see all the games but I watch the one's I can."

"You used to play didn't you?" she asked, sensing some childhood love for the game.

"Just in highschool and then stupid softball games we have in town sometimes"

"I coached a girls team back in New York"

"So why did you leave?"

"Tired of the big city, it's noisy and busy all the time. I wanted to try the small town life for a while" she shrugged.

"And you picked this town?" he scoffed.

"Well I'm liking it so far" Jennifer said meeting his gaze, unable to help from staring into his blue eyes…she didn't think she'd ever met a man with eyes as blue as his. His face was creased around his blue eyes which were deep, looking like they'd seen a lot in life but had a caring and gently sentiment to them.

"Yeah well…wait until you meet Taylor"

"Who's that?"

"You'll see" he grinned.

"Well now I'm intrigued. Anyway I should go, have a pile of boxes at home waiting for me to trip over" she said reaching into her bag and pulling out her purse.

"It's on me, I nearly knocked you down remember"

"Ah yes I almost forgot"

"Night Jennifer" he said lifting her cup from the counter to bring into the kitchen.

"Hey I got my cable in this evening and there's a baseball game on tomorrow night, you wanna come watch. It's always good getting a second viewpoint for my articles"

"Uh sure, Caesar is due to close up anyway"

"Good, well see you tomorrow then, I'll probably be in for my caffeine fix in the morning though"

"See you then"

"Night Luke" she said as she opened the door. _'I already love small town life'_ she thought to herself as she walked through the quiet Stars Hollow Street.

'_What just happened?'_ Luke thought to himself when Jennifer left. He wondered how he had gone from practically running out the door to find Lorelai in the market to meeting a new woman who had just asked him to her house the next night. _'She seems smart, funny, she's a big sports fan…and she's definitely attractive'_ he thought but even when he thought of possibly dating Lorelai's face flashed in his mind. _'We're just friends…actually right now we're not even that.' _He told himself as he wiped down the counter. Less than four weeks ago he'd made a brief appearance at Sookie's wedding, having every intention of talking to Lorelai… until he'd seen her kissing Chris. After that he found himself reverting back to the cold stance he was in before. Even though now he wanted her friendship back he still berated himself for ever expecting anything more than friendship from her, and for ever _wanting_ anything more than that.

**

* * *

The next morning…**

Lorelai stood outside her front door examining the broken porch rail, wondering what contraption she would need to fix it. Although chances were even if it was the most common household tool known to man she wouldn't have it in her house because she'd never needed it before. Although now she thought she may need to finally take that trip to Home Depo, because this time her Mr Fix-it wasn't coming.

"Hi" a female voice said bringing her out of her daze.

"Hey"

"I just moved in next door" the woman explained.

"Beanie Morrisons old place right?"

"Yeah that's the one"

"Well welcome to Stars Hollow, I'm Lorelai" Lorelai said smiling warmly and shaking her hand.

"Jennifer"

"I saw the moving truck yesterday and I would have brought some food over, y'know a cake or whatever but I didn't think giving you food poisoning would be a nice start to our friendship" Lorelai joked,

"People have been bringing food all day, it's gonna take a month to get through" Jennifer laughed.

"Yeah they're pretty friendly around here"

"It's nice though, total opposite to New York"

"Just wait for the town festivals"

"I can't wait"

"You'll see how crazy this town is" Lorelai said just as she pulled off the top of the porch rail in her hand.

"Yeah…crazzzy" Jennifer replied, wondering what Lorelai was doing.

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing"

"…It crossed my mind"

"Well I've been standing here looking at this for twenty minutes wondering how to fix it but I have no tools. The guy who usually does it for me…well he isn't around"

"I know what you mean, two of my porch stairs have fallen through so I have to jump over them to get to my house and my tools are packed in one of the million boxes I have"

"So do you work?" Lorelai asked, curious as to what type of writer she was.

"I'm a writer, sports mostly"

"Wow cool… I don't follow sports much; usually I go for the team to win who have the hottest players" she quipped.

"Yeah I'm a bit of a tomboy that way, that's what you get for having four brothers"

"Maybe I'll learn something from you"

"Well anyway I gotta run, going to Luke's for breakfast, do you go there?"

"Uh yeah sometimes…not in a while" Lorelai replied hesitantly, crossing her arms over her chest feeling defensive. _'Do I go there? Uh yeah up until a month ago it was like a second home'_

"Alright well I'll speak to you later, good luck with the porch rail"

"Thanks, I'll need it. Bye" Lorelai said and waited for her new neighbour to walk down the street before throwing the piece of wood in her hand to the ground in frustration and walking back into the house. She headed straight to the fridge to check how much longer Rory would be away…still another two weeks she thought with a sigh.

* * *

Luke saw Jennifer walk into the diner that morning and sit at the counter, the diner was pretty busy so he was running around with the coffee pot feeling like an extension to his hand most of the time. _'Lorelai would be proud' _he thought.

"What can I get you?" he asked when he came to Jennifer.

"Coffee and pancakes please"

"Coming right up"

"Much busier than last night" she observed.

"Yeah well keeps me solvent"

"Well the coffee is good, not sure about the food yet"

"You can judge soon. How's the unpacking going?"

"Ah it's okay, I didn't do much last night. I need to find the box I put my tools in because two of my porch steps have fallen through so I have to jump over them every time I go into my house"

"I can bring over my tools tonight if you like" he said casually as he sorted through bills.

"Really?"

"Sure, I mean I'm no carpenter but I can fix a couple of steps"

"Thanks Luke that's so sweet" Jennifer smiled and he just gave a nod before heading back into the kitchen to help Caesar.

**

* * *

That evening…**

Luke walked the few minutes to Jennifers with his toolbox in one arm and a small bag of food in the other, figuring since she just moved in that she wouldn't have a lot in the house. As he approached Lorelai's house he saw the living room light on and wondered if Lorelai was having one of her infamous movie nights. His eyes scanned her house, wondering if anything had changed since last time he'd been there. When he saw the wood from the porch rail lying on the grass in front of his house he walked over, picked it up and within a minute had nails and a hammer out of his toolbox.

Lorelai sat eating popcorn and watching ER, even though Rory had warned her never to watch that again in case she started to pick up medical lingo like the last time. Although the sound of hammering from outside interrupted her watching _another_ person die so she got up from the couch and looked out the window. _'What the hell?'_ she thought when she saw Luke outside on the porch, hammer in one hand _(dirty)_ as he held the wood from the porch rail with the other.

"Hi" Lorelai said, a puzzled expression on her face as she stood watching him.

"Hi"

"What are you doing?"

"Well I saw your porch rail was broken so I…" he said trailing off.

"Thank you Luke" she said, her eyes burning into his as she shot him a shy smile.

"No problem, I didn't want you trying to fix it yourself…you'd probably hammer a nail through your hand" he grumped but was happy that they were finally talking. It seemed like so long ago he'd seen her eyes light up the way they had just then. _'Did I do that?' _he wondered.

"Well yes probably but I'm watching ER and some guy shot nails into his head and he didn't die so I'm thinking the nail in hand wouldn't kill me"

"That's a relief" he deadpanned.

"Did you bring me food?" he asked when she spotted the bag of food at his feet.

"Uhh actually no, I'm going to Jennifer's to watch a baseball game so I brought some stuff from the diner" he said uneasily.

"Uh yeah good…cool, makes sense" she said plastering on a smile. '_Jennifer! He's going to her house, how the hell have they become so buddy buddy? She only moved TWO FREAKIN' DAYS AGO. We've been friends 6 years, that doesn't just go away in four weeks and three days!'_ she screamed inside but covered it well.

"You can have it though; I mean she doesn't know I was bringing anything so…"

"Nah nah I have chinese and popcorn in here so I'm good. Plus she just moved in so she probably doesn't have a lot of food…or a fridge, when I moved here I didn't have a fridge for a month. I kinda need a new fridge actually but I can't seem to bring myself to throw Bertie out. Bertie that's the fridge…" Lorelai rambled.

"Uh sure okay well there, good as new" he said stepping back from the rail.

"Thanks it's so good of you to do that" _'Does this mean he's talking to me again?'_

"You can come by the diner y'know"

"I can?" she said unsurely.

"Yeah, my coffee demand has dropped since you've been gone" he explained, but they both knew that wasn't why he said she could come back.

"Well in that case I better come back" she said shooting him a smile. _'I've missed him'_ she thought as she took in the man standing in front of her, dressed in his usual flannel and backwards baseball cap. She'd even missed seeing his flannel, the shirt he was wearing was his blue one, her personal favourite as it brought out the blue in his eyes.

"Good, well I should go. Bye" he said, picking up his toolbox and the bag of food.

"Bye" Lorelai said walking casually into the house before running upstairs to the window and looking out at Luke when he reached Jennifer's. Although he didn't go straight in, he knocked the door and she came out and they talked for a minute. _'He's fixing her porch' _Lorelai said out loud when she saw Luke pull out some tools and start working on it. Although the thing that annoyed her more was that Jennifer came out and sat next to him. She handed him a cup of something, Lorelai guessed it was tea unless the world really _had_ flipped on its axis and he'd switched to coffee.

'_Why is he smiling? Where's my grumpy Luke?'_ Lorelai asked herself as she continued to watch the two of them on the porch. The twisting feeling of her stomach coming back with every passing second she watched him talk to Jennifer the way he would to her, the way he smiled at Jennifer and mostly the way he fixed _her_ porch rail. _'I don't want to share my Mr Fix-it'_ a small voice inside her head shouted.

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_...And done. Remember to review !_


	3. Over analysing…or not?

_Hey guys _

_For all you kids who read BTR and are somewhat concerned that I haven't updated yet. Don't worry I will update! Haha I haven't written 31 (and a half) chapters just to give it up but takes me much longer to write BTR than this fic and I needed a little break from it but I'll update before the end of the week. Y'all can come to my house and beat me otherwise…haha oh yes you don't know where I live, guess you'll have to trust me! _

_Thanks for all the reviews, I would reply to each personally like others do but frankly I'm too lazy to do anything of the sort lol. Wouldn't you rather I use that precious time to write BTR or the next chapter…yes I agree ;) _

_Btw I gotta express my love for The Fray, Jack's mannequin, PANIC! At the disco, Mae, Anna Nalick, Switchfoot & Acceptance…all bands/musicians of which help me to write )_

_Also **Maddy (ocdwithlhg)** thanks for beta-ing this, you're a doll even if you heit it! P.S. Anyone who hasn't read her fics really should, they rock! _

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3 – Over analysing…or not?**

It was the first morning in a month that Lorelai hadn't dreaded getting out of bed, because for the first time in a month she knew she was going to Luke's. As she got dressed that morning she tried to ignore the fact that she was spending a little longer than usual getting ready and picking her outfit for the day. _'I need to look presentable' _she told herself as she took her tight figure-hugging jeans and baby blue shirt out of the closet, putting them on before fixing her hair and doing her make-up. She walked to Luke's that morning earlier than she usually would have gone before the fight, but it had been too damn long since she had been to Luke's that she didn't want to wait any longer.

Luke stood at the counter talking to Caesar and trying his very best to ignore Kirk when he heard the bell above the diner door ring. Casually looking up as he talked to Caesar he saw Lorelai give him a small shy wave and a smile. He grinned back at her, grabbed a mug and had it filled with coffee by the time she reached the counter.

"Mmmm it's been too damn long" Lorelai moaned after she'd taken her first sip of coffee.

'_You're telling me'_ Luke thought; glad to have things back to normal.

About ten minutes later the bell rang again and in walked Jennifer who headed straight to the counter, taking a seat two stools down from Lorelai.

"Hey" she greeted Luke.

"Hey, coffee?" Luke asked, already knowing she would want a cup.

"Please" she replied

"Coming up" he said

"Last night was fun" Jennifer said, causing Lorelai's attention to peak as she turned to look at the two of them for a second.

"Yeah it was, we should do it again" Luke said. It had surprised him how good a time he'd had. He wasn't very sociable with new people around town but since he'd met Jennifer he'd known it was different with her, he'd realized how much they had in common. She loved both playing and watching sports, she was easy to talk to and she even liked fishing. As he caught himself thinking about Jennifer he looked down at Lorelai who was studying her coffee mug pretty intently and he wondered what she was thinking about.

"Are you just using me for free cable" she joked and Luke's thoughts jumped back to Jennifer.

"Well that and beer" he joked. Lorelai sat trying not to look up at the flirting from down the counter but she couldn't help glancing up every few seconds. _'She's flirting! And he's doing it right back…since when does he flirt? Okay so I know he does it with me' _Lorelai thought to herself, ignoring the green-eyed monster that had joined her.

"Tomorrow night come by, there's classics on ESPN this week and next."

"Yeah?" he said.

"Yeah and bring those burgers, maybe some coffee this time too?"

"I'll come over after I close"

"Good" Jennifer smiled, her eyes not leaving his as she took a sip of coffee. She'd already heard from Miss Patty that Luke was a bachelor…it surprised her that no one had snapped him up yet, now she was glad they hadn't.

"You want some more?" Luke asked when he walked up and stood in front of Lorelai.

"Yeah thanks" she replied.

"So how's Rory?"

"She's great, having a great time in Washington. There are museums, monuments and boring stuff like that all over the place so she thinks she's in heaven"

"Good" Luke grinned, he always loved watching Lorelai when she talked about her daughter; he could see how proud she was of Rory. He had to admit that he was too…proud of them both though.

"Hey she gets back next Friday, you wanna come to the airport with me?" Lorelai asked.

"You want me to?" he asked, clearly surprised by the invitation.

"Yeah I mean Rory has been asking how you are when we've been talking. You're pretty much one of the family now bucko" Lorelai said, just realizing how true the words were after they came out. _'He's more of a father than Chris has ever been'_ she thought and then wished she hadn't even thought of _his _name. Her answering machine had been plagued with messages from him since he had left Sookie's wedding. Although just like one after the next they all remained unanswered and subsequently deleted.

"Um sure okay then I'll go" he said trying to hide the small grin that had graced the sides of his mouth as he turned to change the filter of the coffee machine. Lorelai smiled to herself; already excited by the concept of both seeing her daughter and Luke coming with her_. 'He's just my friend who I'm excited about spending time with'_ Lorelai told herself.

* * *

Within the next week and a half Luke had been spending more time with both Lorelai and Jennifer. He'd been over to Lorelai's to fix things around the house that she'd asked him to do before Rory got back…and she just wanted an excuse to see him. Since Jennifer had arrived in town Lorelai felt he'd been walking _past_ her house more than _to_ it. Which for a reason she wasn't ready to admit yet, bothered her. 

Luke had been to Jennifer's three nights in that week and a half, they'd mostly watched baseball or football. The two of them had even talked about going fishing to his cabin for a few days. He felt comfortable with Jennifer, he felt it in his gut just the way he had with Lorelai and Rachel. For a long time Lorelai had been his best friend, she still was even if she didn't know it. Although she was his only real female friend and now he was enjoying having another friend that he had so much in common with. Luke had told Jennifer about Lorelai after she had seen him talking to her in the diner and asked about their relationship. As usual he'd answered her with the usual _"We're just friends"_… as much as he'd always wished they were more than that.

* * *

Lorelai had gone to bed early that night after seeing Luke's truck parked outside Jennifer's house. She'd even tried to watch ESPN and learn something about baseball…but after nearly falling asleep twice she gave up. _'Maybe I should try to watch when I'm less tired' _she conceded. 

"_You are hilarious!" Lorelai shouted as she walked from the bedroom down to the kitchen where she found Luke at the stove making breakfast._

"_Okay, see, last night, when I said to you, 'Tomorrow, no matter what, make sure I get up at seven,' what I actually meant was, 'Tomorrow, no matter what, make sure I have the option of getting up at seven in case when seven comes, I actually wanna get up,' which – as it happened – I didn't. Therefore, you're currently responsible for the great alarm clock slaughter of 2002." _

"_No survivors?" _

"_The one shaped like a bunny escaped with a mild decapitation. This is decaf." She said after she'd smelt the coffee. _

"_What are you talking about?" Luke scoffed. _

"_You switched my coffee again." _

"_I'm a busy man. I don't have time to sneak around switching your coffee. I have a diner to run, I have shipments to order, I have things to flip and fry. Will you stop that?" Luke said as he watched Lorelai walk around looking for the coffee until she reached the sink and pulled out the bag that he'd hidden._

"_Ha, haha, hahaha! Under the sink, very clever, but not clever enough bucko!" _

"_Okay, fine, you know what? I give up." _

"_Woo hoo!" _

"_Go one day without coffee."_

"_That's not giving up." _

"_I'll put a toy in your cereal." _

"_Dirty!" she said with a cheeky grin. _

"_Fine, here, you win." He said handing her a plate of food. _

"_Thank you." _

"_You're welcome. Now you're up, you're fed, I'm leaving." _

"_Oh, hey, we need q-tips."_

"_I'll alert the media." _

"_See, that's better with the accent." _

"_The reference is enough, you'll learn that one day. I'll be home early, anything besides the q-tips?" _

"_Um, cotton balls, world peace, Connie Chung's original face back…" Lorelai said but was cut off when Luke kissed her. _

"_Goodbye crazy lady. Goodbye Sid and Nancy." Luke said as he gave her stomach a rub. _

"_Leopold and Loeb." _

"_What?" _

"_I changed my mind, don't tell Rory." _

"_Decaf." _

"_Never." _

"_They'll both have two heads." _

"_More to love." She smiled before leaning in for another kiss before he left. _

Lorelai woke up suddenly from her dream, her eyes wide as she quickly reached for the phone and consequently fell out of bed. She cursed the bed for a few seconds before she called the familiar Washington number.

"_Hello?" _

"You have to come home."

"_Mom?"_

"You're gone and the house is quiet and Bill Maher's cancelled. The name of the show was Politically Incorrect for God's sake. Didn't anybody read the title? He was supposed to say those things, dammit! And since when do we have sport's writers in Stars Hollow? The only sport we play here involve Kirk being chased by Miss Patty through the town square" Lorelai ranted.

"_You had another dream." _

"Yes."

"_The doctor is in." _

"Okay, I'm lying in bed and I'm sleeping and I'm wearing this fabulous nightgown, and like thirty alarm clocks go off, and so I get out of bed and I walk downstairs, and there, standing is the kitchen, is Luke!"

"_Was he naked?" _

"No! He was making breakfast."

"_Naked?"_

"Okay, you've been in Washington way too long." Lorelai said rolling her eyes.

"_Sorry. Go ahead, he was making breakfast. . ." _

"Eggs and pancakes and bacon, and he put decaf coffee in my regular coffee bag, which of course I knew immediately."

"_Hi, the nose." _

"Exactly. So eventually I find the real stuff under the sink. He hands me my breakfast, and then…"

"_What?" _

"He kissed me and talked to my stomach!" Lorelai said loudly. _'God I wish I could remember if it was a good kiss, what am I talking about of course it was a good kiss - it was Luke…woah where did that come from!"_

"_Why would he do that?" _Rory asked clearly confused.

"Because apparently I'm pregnant!" Lorelai said even louder. _'Our kids eyes would be so blue'_ she thought to herself before chastising her mind for wandering without permission.

"_What?" _

"With twins! …Say something."

"_You are going to be so fat." _

"Just analyze my dream, please."

"_Okay. Well, your dream was telling you that you are secretly in love with Luke and you wanna marry him and have his twins."_

"Uh, no, try again."

"_What do you mean, try again? You asked me to analyze your dream, I analyzed your dream." _

"Yes, well, I reject that analysis, so I'd like another one, please."

"_Fine, maybe you're jealous of this new sports writer Jennifer who's taken an interest in Luke and you are secretly in love with Luke and are jealous he's spending time with someone else and you really do want to marry him and have his babies." _Rory said, recalling the many calls she had received from the mother since their new neighbour had moved in, most involving the writer's new interest in Luke.

"Uhh no I reject that analysis too, next please" Lorelai said adamantly, convincing herself that it was _not_ jealousy or a secret love for Luke.

"_You can't just reject an analysis and try again. You're not shopping for bathing suits here." _

"Give me another analysis or I'll put your Taylor hula-hooping dream into a whole other context." Lorelai said recalling the last time the two of them had been dream analysing and Rory had told her of a recent dream involving Taylor.

"_I told you, Taylor was supposed to be Dean. I could tell by his freakishly thick head of hair." _

"I'm waiting." She replied impatiently.

"Okay, maybe you're still upset about what happened with Dad and you're jealous of Sherry because she's having his baby and not you. Mom?"

"I miss you." Lorelai said sadly.

"_I miss you, too." _

"Is that Paris?" Lorelai asked hearing a familiar intense voice in the background.

"_Yeah, she talks in her sleep. . . long in-depth arguments. I'm so glad I only have one more day here." _

"Me, too. What do you have on your agenda for tomorrow? Or, today, actually."

"_We have a breakfast mixer with members of Congress and the Senate." _

"Cool. See if you can steal me something off of Tom Daschle's fruit plate."

"_I'll see what I can do." _

"See you Friday, doc."

"See you Friday." Lorelai said before hanging up the phone. She lay there for a few minutes before she got up and went to get a drink, glancing out the window she was surprised to see Luke's truck still parked outside Jennifer's house. _'Ugh'_ she thought and closed the curtain, as if that would block out all mental pictures of what they could possibly be doing from her head.

**

* * *

Elsewhere…**

Luke sat on Jennifer's couch, his arms around the back of it as Jennifer sat next to him with her feet up on the coffee table. As they sat there watching she would look over at him from time to time, letting her gaze take in his handsome features, from his blue captivating eyes to his short two-day stubble and then to his lips. The last feature was one she wondered about, she'd seen Luke passionately rant about a Red Sox game…she had to wonder if he would have the same passion regarding _other activities_. A little while later she leaned her head against his shoulder causing him to look away from the television. _'What is she doing?'_ he thought as she put her head into the crook between his chin and shoulder.

"You tired?" he asked, looking at the clock his eyes widened when he saw the time, wondering how he hadn't realized how late it was, although he was feeling a little tired then too.

"A bit" she answered.

"I can go if you want. I mean I should go I have to open the diner in the morning" he said already starting to stand up.

"I don't want you to go" she said as she turned her head to look at him and pulled him back down. Their faces just centimetres from each others and Luke couldn't bring himself to look away, gulping as she leaned toward him and pressed her lips against his. Luke sat totally bewildered for a second before he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and slowly moved his lips to kiss her back.

* * *

_  
Firstly...retract those claws & stop hating, and once you've done that, review and thennnn I'll update and we'll see what happens k?_  



	4. Lazy Hazy Crazy Days

_Morning amigo's. How was everyone's Easter? Good I hope :). Mine was pretty class, a holiday which involves Chocolate, seriously, chocolate, that's all I'm saying._

_Anyway I'm running out but wanted to post this before I left. Thanks for all the reviews, y'all rock my socks off...seriously I'm barefoot right now. Cheers tho dudes! And I think the general consensus was that y'all hate Jennifer right? Me too, I swear if I wasn't the writer I'd be pissed off at me for writing her in, lol but until I turn skizophrenic I'm sleeping just fine._

_Read, enjoy & review!_

* * *

**4 – Lazy-Hazy-Crazy days**

Luke sat totally bewildered for a second before he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and slowly moved his lips to kiss her back. Within a few seconds he could feel Jennifer's tongue teasing his mouth, imploring for entry and when her hands moved to his chest all he could think about was that he was kissing her and thinking about her neighbour. Lorelai's face flashed through his mind, he didn't know why. _'You have nothing to feel guilty about'_ he thought as he continued to kiss her back but did nothing to deepen it. It was Jennifer that pulled back from him, sensing something was holding him back.

"Is this okay?" she asked, wondering if she'd done the right thing. The past two weeks they'd been hanging out, talking, flirting…generally enjoying each others company, naturally she'd thought this was the next step.

"Yeah…no…I don't know" Luke mumbled, feeling like his eyes were burning into his. _'What am I doing? Why can't I do this?' _he asked himself.

"…Right well that doesn't help me much"

"I'm sorry"

"Just tell me the truth…do you like me?" she asked honestly, not wanting to play games.

"Yes" _'…I just like someone else more'_ he thought.

"Then…"

"Can we just leave it for tonight? I should get back to the diner and Jess" he asked, his mind feeling in a whirl. His head and heart were in conflict, his head told him to go for it but his heart stopped him and it was the latter that he listened to.

"Sure."

"Thanks for tonight, it was fun" he said as he walked to the door, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah fun…"she said trailing off and looking down at her shoes, not knowing what he was thinking. His signals were mixed, like he wanted to but then something was stopping him … she just didn't know what.

"See you in the morning?" he asked, making sure she was still coming to the diner.

"Yeah see you"

"Bye" he mumbled before digging his hands into his pockets and walking to his truck. His stare drifted towards Lorelai's house, the lights were all off and he wondered if she was home. _'Stop thinking like that'_. He mentally scolded himself for letting his mind wander to Lorelai. Mostly for letting his deep-seeded, but never to be returned feelings get in the way of a woman he actually may like.

* * *

**The next morning…**

The diner was busy as usual; the 6am crowd had been even bigger than usual so Luke's late night and lack of sleep didn't help his mood. Lorelai also appeared earlier than usual that morning, dressed in work clothes so he assumed she had to get to the inn.

"Hi, coffee please" Lorelai asked and Luke grunted in reply before taking a mug and filling it with coffee. _'No lecture, great…I bet he gives Jennifer the lectures these days'_ Lorelai thought as she sipped her coffee. _'Why am I jealous that Luke will rant at someone else about their coffee addiction?' _she wondered.Lorelai's eyes followed Luke as he walked around the diner, thinking and wondering about what was going on with him and Jennifer. She noticed him yawning several times which didn't do anything but arouse more suspicion. _'How late was he there? Is baseball on that late? What did they do?'_

"So Luke anything new?" she asked imperturbably, trying to seem as casual as possible.

"Nope"

"Nothing at all?" _'Monosyllabic man strikes again'_

"I got a new meat supplier" he shrugged.

"Interesting…so anything else new?"

"Like what?"

"Uhh y'know whatever" she replied in a nonchalant tone.

"Not really…Jess has a new girlfriend"

"So you and Jennifer seem to be quite good friends" Lorelai said, sensing she would be old, grey and six foot under by the time Luke got what she was talking about.

"We are"

"You are what?"

"Friends" he said giving her a funny look, wondering how many cups of coffee she'd had that morning.

"Friends…"

"Yes, friends, like you and I" he said as he sorted through bills.

"You're friends with her like you're friends with me?" Lorelai asked, feeling a little hurt that he had the same friendship with Jennifer after a couple of weeks as he did with her when they'd been friends six years.

"Yeah, I mean not exactly like you and me, she's into sports a lot so we talk about that a lot." _'The only time Lorelai talks to me about sports is when she teases me about doing athletics in high school'_

"So she like's sports huh?" Lorelai asked, the recent familiar awkward feeling in her stomach returning, she refused to think of it as a jealous twinge…just an uncomfortable sensation.

"Yup, she also likes to fish. I've never met a woman who likes to fish before" he said with a curious grin and a shrug.

'_Did God just clone Luke into a female equivalent, a hot, sports loving, and fishing lover girl?'_ she thought.

"Yeah..." Lorelai said trailing off, not knowing what to say. _'I could fish if I wanted'_ a defiant voice in her head argued.

"You want anything to eat?" he asked noticing that she hadn't ordered anything yet.

"Just a doughnut to go please, got to get to the Inn"

"Thanks…well I should go" Lorelai said after Luke handed her a small paper bag with a doughnut.

"We still on for the airport tomorrow?"

"Yeah, you can still make it?"

"I'll be there"

"See you tomorrow" she said shooting him a wide smile and he gave her a small grin back. _'And I wonder why I can't move forward with Jennifer' _he thought as he watched her leave, appreciating the way she swivelled her hips as she walked.

* * *

**The next day…**

Luke hadn't seen Jennifer since he had left her place two nights ago, he wondered if she was avoiding him after what had happened…or what _hadn't_ happened as the case was. He hoped she wasn't, even if nothing more than friendship happened between them he still didn't want to lose what they had. Before he could think any further about Jennifer he heard the bell on the diner ring a few times as the door was flung open.

"Lucas" a hyperactive Lorelai shouted as she burst in through the diner door.

"Are you ready?" she practically yelled as he ignored her.

"Give me five minutes and keep it down" he grumbled.

"Coffee please, make it two and put the second in a flask for Rory" Lorelai said as she bounced onto the stool in front of Luke at the counter.

"You don't need coffee"

"Please Luke, I'm celebrating having my daughter back" Lorelai said giving him a smile and batting her eyelashes in an exaggerated manner. As usual Luke gave in and poured her a coffee which she had finished by the time he came out a few minutes later with his green army coat on and a flask in-hand.

"Let's go" he said holding up the flask.

"You're good to us" Lorelai smiled before taking the to-go cup she had poured herself off the counter.

"You're not supposed to pour your own coffee" he said in a stern voice.

"I was trying to save you time" she replied before grabbing him by the sleeve and pulling him out the door.

"Jennifer hey" Lorelai said when they bumped into her outside the diner with another man. _'Mmm tall, dark and handsome…Luke and this guy, I gotta say this girl has taste'_ Lorelai thought to herself and then wondered where the last thought came from.

"Hey guys" she greeted with a friendly smile.

"Hi" Luke said, giving the man she was with a once over.

"This is my brother Jonathan, Jonathan this is Luke who I was telling you about and this is Lorelai my neighbour"

"Hey, good to meet you. Just came down to see where Jen here lives…so is this place always like this?" Jonathan asked referring to all the people around the town square finishing with the decorations,

"Oh yeah, try getting the lazy-hazy-crazy days song out of your head tonight" Lorelai replied.

"It already appears stuck in there" Jonathan smiled, liking the look of the woman in front of him.

"Well I'll try and think of a way to get it out of your head…although one option is suicide" he quipped.

"If you think of anything I'll be around here somewhere"

'_Could he be anymore obvious'_ Luke thought, internally he rolled his eyes in disgust, wishing they could just leave for the airport already.

"So where are you guys headed?" Jennifer asked, directing her question to Luke.

"Uh well Lorelai's picking her daughter up from the airport so I'm driving"

"Us Gilmore's don't pack light, I think if Rory and I tried to pick up her suitcase we may just get a hernia" Lorelai remarked cleverly making Jennifer and Jonathan laugh.

"Yes I'm purely a bell boy" _'Is that really the only reason she asked me to come?'_

"Well maybe we'll see you later?" Jennifer said to Luke.

"Come by" Luke replied and gave Jennifer a smile.

'_Could she be anymore obvious?' _ Lorelai thought, taking a sip of her to-go coffee and looking toward the direction of the town gazebo so she wouldn't have to see their flirting.

"We will, see you later"

"Bye" both Luke and Lorelai said simultaneously before walking around the side of the diner and climbing into his truck.

* * *

"Isn't the one who left town supposed to get the gifts?" Luke asked when they stood in the gift shop with Lorelai piling stuff she wanted in his arms.

"We're here early, plus if I feel anymore of those bomb-sniffing dogs with gummy-bears then Rory may have to see me leave in handcuffs. Don't you think that may be a little scarring?" Lorelai argued.

"Fine" he replied rolling his eyes.

** 30 minutes later…**

"Hey Gilmore!" Lorelai screamed as her and Luke waited in the departure lounge.

"Mom!" Rory said and they ran over to each other before both of them fell

"Oh, oh! Luckily there are video cameras everywhere that caught that very graceful moment on tape."

"People are watching" Luke said as he gave Lorelai a hand to help her up which she took gratefully, trying to ignore the tingling feeling in her hand when his slipped into hers.

"I am so glad to see you and you Luke" Rory said giving Luke a hug which surprised him as he wasn't used to it.

"No, we're glad to see you!"

"I'm never leaving home again."

"Oh, that's my emotionally stunted girl! Hey, I got you gifts."

"What? I'm the one that left town; I'm supposed to get you gifts."

"That's what I said" Luke grumbled.

"Oh, but I got here early and there was nothing to do except feed gummy bears to the bomb-sniffing dogs which, apparently, the United States government frowns upon.

"You got in trouble with the government while you were waiting for me?"

"Just a little."

"How much is a little?"

"Enough that I had to remove her from the scene" Luke added.

"Aww Luke my hero" Lorelai said pretending to gush. "…Okay, here you go."

"Wow, a Hartford, Connecticut sweatshirt."

"Nice, huh?"

"…Hartford, Connecticut notebook, Hartford, Connecticut pencil set, a Hartford, Connecticut shot glass." Rory listed as she looked through the bag.

"…And beer mug! I got one for Luke too"

"I'll use it everyday" Luke deadpanned.

"Aww well as long as you don't become an alcoholic" Lorelai quipped and rubbed his arm, for what reason she wasn't sure.

"Hartford baguette, Hartford bear, a Hartford sunglasses."

"You like?"

"I love."

"All right, let's go. Luke will get your bags, then we'll hit the road, and I can't wait to hear all about Washington. "

"Oooh look how strong" Rory said as Luke picked up her bag.

"Do you work-out?" Lorelai asked putting on her girly voice.

"Shut up" he said rolling his eyes but grinned a little in spite of himself, happy to have his girls back. _'They're not your girls'_ a little voice in his head told him.

* * *

**Back in Stars Hollow…**

Lorelai and Rory walked through the towns square, Luke had gone back to the diner...not in the mood for any town events but Lorelai was glad she had asked him to go with her to the airport. It wasn't often either of them spent time alone in general and the last time they'd even been outside Stars Hollow together was when he took her to the hospital after her dad had gone into hospital. '_He's always there'_ she thought to herself as she glanced in the direction of the diner and saw him through the window with his back to her.

"Hey Taylor, is this where the mosh pit starts?"

"Well, hello Lorelai, Rory. So what do you think of the band? Pretty big city, don't you think?"

"Mm, I sure do." Lorelai agreed.

"What?"

"What? I'm agreeing with you. They are smokin'!"

"I do not care for that sarcastic tone, Lorelai." Taylor scolded.

"Well….uh…no, I'm being nice here!" Lorelai said seriously confused how Taylor was getting it wrong the _one_ time she really _wasn't_ being sarcastic.

"You have an opinion on everything. Nothing is ever up to your standards."

"That is not true. I'm sure these guys are all great barbers."

"I don't even know why I bother." He grumbled before storming off.

"That is it – I have been it for the last… What? Sees Jess and a girl kissing against a tree Oh, well, looks like he's got his 'what I did this summer' essay all researched and ready to go. Guess you dodged a bullet there, huh?

"What do you mean?" Rory questioned.

"I don't know. It seems kind of lucky that you didn't throw everything away for Jess when you see…"

"See what? What am I seeing?"

"You're upset." Lorelai said, clearly taken aback that Rory was so bothered.

"No, I'm not upset."

"Yes, you are upset. I know when you're upset 'cause you look like my mother."

"Thanks a lot."

"You like my mother." Lorelai argued.

"Yes, but you don't like your mother, so when you tell me that I look like your mother, it's not exactly a compliment."

"Honey, what is wrong?"

"Oh God!"

"What is it?"

"It's that!"

"Jess?" Lorelai questioned, feeling she was missing something.

"Yes!"

"You're upset about Jess?"

"I said yes.

"Yes, it's Jess? Lorelai said exploiting the opportunity that her words rhymed.

"You're not being funny.

"It's not my fault that yes and Jess rhyme. Did I exploit the opportunity, of course I did, but…Rory, come on. I know you had this crush…" Lorelai started. Feeling the phrase _'Like mother, like daughter' _come to mind when she thought about how Rory was jealous of Jess and Shane when she was getting a familiar feeling when she saw Luke with Jennifer. _'At least they're not making out against a tree…god I hope they don't make-out anywhere'._

"It wasn't a crush."

"Well, I thought it was over. I mean, you haven't talked to him since –"

"Sookie's wedding."

"You talked to him at Sookie's wedding?"

"Yes."

"He wasn't at Sookie's wedding." '_Well colour me confused, did I just block out all the people I don't want to remember who were at Sookie's wedding…Chris…Jess' _

"Yes, he was. He had just come back and he came to see me."

"Okay, so he _crashed_ Sookie's wedding, and…" _'If he wasn't Luke's nephew I swear I'd be in front of the line with my pitchfork'_

"And nothing. He told me that he was back in town, that he'd moved back and…"

"What Rory? Come on."

"And we kissed, okay?"

"You kissed?" _'How did I not know about this!' _

"Yes."

"You kissed, like…you kissed?"

"Yes."

"Okay, who kissed who?"

"What does that matter?"

"… Because it matters. Did he kiss you, did you kiss each other, did you trip and your faces accidentally –"_'He kissed her the little jerk'_

"I kissed him."

"Okay." Lorelai grimaced.

"And I don't know, I thought he came back here because he liked me or something, and I kissed him and he kissed me back, and now he's over there and I feel so stupid and-that girl isn't even his type and…"

"Rory, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm ranting. You should recognize this, I learned it from you."

"Yeah, but you went to Sookie's wedding with Dean."

"I know."

"And then you ran off to have some thing with Jess." _'If Chris hadn't been so busy being…well Chris I mightn't have missed this.'_

"It was a kiss, not a thing."

"A kiss is a thing."

"Well, it wasn't planned, it just happened."

"I can't believe it. All this time I'm thinking, 'She's with Dean.'"

"I _am_ with Dean."

"No, Rory – kissing another guy is not being with Dean. Ask him, I bet he'd back me up on that."

"It was nothing."

"Well, then why are you so freaked out?"

"I'm not freaked out."

"Look, kid, you have gotta make up your mind. Jess, Dean, Jess, Dean – it's enough already. If you want Jess, that's fine – go get him, there he is. If you think that's the great love of your life, then great…grab a liver treat and a squeaky toy and run to him. Don't worry about that girl because I'm sure he will have moved onto somebody else in about an hour. But do something. Dean has been sweet and supportive and incredibly patient, and now you are officially treating him like dirt, and I'm sorry, but not only is that not you, he doesn't deserve that. God, I wish they knew another song!"

"I know all of this about Dean."

"You do?"_ 'Why can't she see how great Dean is?'_

"Yes, I do. I know how great he is. I knew it before you did!"

"Well, knowing this has apparently not stopped you from dragging his heart all over this town."

"Not fair!"

"Yes, fair, the fairest, the Snow White of fair."

"I don't wanna talk to you about this anymore."

"Okay, listen, if you don't wanna be with Dean anymore, cut him loose. Let him find someone who does because this is just so…wrong!"

"Alright, I get it, I…just stop!"

"Hey" Dean called from across the street as he walked over.

"Hi."

"Hi Dean." _'Good timing' _

"I thought your plane didn't get in 'til six?" Rory asked.

"Well, I managed to get an earlier flight."

"Well, I'm off to dinner with the parents."

"Do you have…?" Dean started.

"No, she's off the hook. You guys have all night to…talk. Enjoy. Good to have you back, Dean."

"Thanks."

"See you later." Lorelai said in Rory's direction before she left.

Lorelai walked through the town fair, her mood officially ruined…her daughter was only back a couple of hours and they were already fighting. '_What the hell just happened?'_ Lorelai thought. _'This is Jess's fault'_ she decided, instantly knowing he was a scapegoat but she didn't care.

"Hey" a voice said bringing her back to reality.

"Oh hi how's it going?" Lorelai said recognising Jennifer's hot brother.

"Pretty good, although I just met Kirk. He just tried to sell me bubble bath he invented by studying cows?"

"Oh god, two words you need to think whenever Kirk comes trying to sell you anything, '_run away_"

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

Luke stood behind the counter, occasionally he looked out at the fair to see who was out there, secretly wondering where both Jennifer and Lorelai were. When he saw Jennifer approach the door of the diner he grinned. She waved her hand for him to come out but he shook his head, again she waved for him to come out so he opened the door to the diner.

"I don't participate in these crazy town events" he said as he stepped outside the door of the dinner, shaking his head as he looked out at Kirk who was wearing some sort of fruity costume.

"Well that's a shame" she said folding her arms.

"So you didn't come by yesterday" he commented.

"You noticed"

"Yeah I did" he said simply.

"Well my brother came yesterday and I thought I'd give you some time after what happened the other night" she replied. There was an uncomfortable silence as they looked out over the town square, both of their attentions floating over to Jonathan and Lorelai. They were now sitting on the middle step of the town gazebo talking about something, laughing animatedly at something one of them had said.

"They seem to have hit it off" Jennifer commented.

"Yeah looks like it" he commented. _'Why am I surprised, she said it herself… I'm just her personal bell boy'_

"So I should go" Jennifer said as she turned to Luke.

'_Don't let another woman walk away because of a crazy crush on Lorelai'_ a voice in his head told him as he thought about Rachel leaving the last time. Before he knew exactly what he was doing he had leant over and kissed her. It was short and sweet, a simple movement of his lips brushing across hers but it was a kiss all the same.

"You keep surprising me" Jennifer said when he took a step back.

"Yeah well…" he said blushing as he adjusted his hat nervously. Breaking the eye contact he looked back towards the towns square, specifically the gazebo where he saw Lorelai staring at him with an incomprehensible look on her face.

* * *

**_Review my pretties, the good, the bad and the ugly ;)_**


	5. Jealousy becomes me

_Thanks for all the reviews guys, y'all rock. Especially all you who read BTR and this, glad you seem to like me writing LL as well as S/L. Keep reviewing 'cause you're all angels and I'm a junkie for reviews. Seriously I'd marry them if I could, strange passions I tell ya ;)

* * *

_

**5 – Jealousy becomes me**

"Yeah well…" he said blushing as he adjusted his hat nervously. Breaking the eye contact he looked back towards the towns square, specifically the gazebo where he saw Lorelai staring at him with an incomprehensible look on her face. He assumed from the look on her face that she had seen him kiss Jennifer which hadn't been his intention, PDA's weren't his thing but it hadn't felt so public just a few seconds ago. _'What is she thinking?'_ he thought to himself as their eyes locked.

"So I'm gonna get going, Jonathan is coming with me to get some furniture" Jennifer said.

"Oh okay"

"Come by tonight"

"Sure I'll try and get over after closing" he said and gave her a grin before she leaned over and gave him a light kiss.

"Bye"

* * *

Lorelai had been talking to Jonathan on the gazebo steps; he did rock climbing as a hobby and was just back from the Grand Canyon…she didn't see them having much in common but he was funny and very pleasurable to look at. 

"Check out Kirk" Jonathan laughed.

"God not the fruity costume again" Lorelai laughed, wondering if Luke had seen him yet and glanced past Kirk in the direction of the diner where he saw him standing outside with Jennifer. Just as she was about to turn back to Jonathan she saw Luke lean across and kiss her. _'Just friends my ass' _a voice in her head screamed. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, and again ignored the twisting of her stomach but as much as she tried to ignore what was going on she couldn't. _'I'm jealous'_ she admitted to herself. Whenever she saw him glance in his direction she tried to read his expression, he looked nervous and he stared back at her with a funny expression.

"You okay?" Jonathan asked when she looked like she was spaced out.

"Yeah I'm fine" Lorelai said breaking eye contact with Luke and looking back at Jonathan.

"Well I should go; I'm helping Jen get new furniture"

"Fun" _'I guess that means she's staying… damn'_

"Tell me about it"

"Well I'll see you later maybe" Lorelai said standing up.

"Yeah I hope so"

Lorelai wandered around the fair for a few minutes after Jonathan had left, she had a one track mind at that stage and the one track was Luke. Questions she wanted answers to, feelings she wanted to ignore. Whenever it all got too much she marched towards the diner, walking like a woman on a mission.

"Hey Luke" Lorelai said when she walked into the diner which was practically empty apart from an old man and lady in the corner by the window; everyone else in town was out at the festival.

"Hi"

"Coffee" she said hastily and Luke got out a cup, trying his best to avoid eye contact.

"Do you remember the last time we kissed?" Lorelai asked out of the blue and Luke looked up from cleaning the counter with a clueless look on his face.

"Who kissed?" he questioned.

"You and I"

"We've never…" he started. _'What the hell is she talking about?'_

"Exactly. Which made me wonder to myself how _our_ friendship is the same as your _friendship_ with Jennifer" Lorelai said in a strong deliberate tone.

"What?" Luke asked, seriously confused about where she was going. _'Is it just me or does she seem mad?'_ he wondered.

"You're kissing Jennifer"

"We…" he started but couldn't finish.

"I saw you kiss her"

"So?" he asked in an irritated tone.

"So what are you a couple now?" Lorelai practically scoffed.

"We're…undefined" he hesitated, because truthfully he didn't know what they were.

"You like her?"

"Yes I like her, what has it got to do with you?" he asked, not liking where the conversation was headed and feeling put on the spot. Lorelai was the last person he wanted to talk to about whatever was happening with Jennifer.

"Oh I'm sorry I was obviously under the mistaken that we were _friends_ who tell each other things"

"We are friends" he said as he rolled his eyes.

"But not friends with benefits like you a Jen right?" Lorelai said harshly and instantly regretted it.

"What the hell is your problem?" Luke asked, leaning on the counter staring at her with a look on his face that made her uncomfortable.

"Nothing, it's fine. I have to get to dinner with my parents so bye" Lorelai said leaving her untouched cup of coffee on the counter before leaving the diner quickly_. 'The day just keeps getting better and better'_ Lorelai thought sarcastically.

'_What the hell was that all about?'_ Luke asked when she left and he took the full cup of coffee off the counter and poured it down the sink. _'She seemed jealous…but that's crazy. She doesn't care, she's just pissed that I'm spending more time with someone else'_ he thought to himself.

**

* * *

Hours later…**

Lorelai drove home from her parents in tears after yet another evening of disappointments, her disappointments that was. Yet again her parents had felt let down by another life choice that Lorelai had made. This time it was because she had told her parents that her and Chris weren't together, of course they blamed her for it even after they found out it was Sherri being pregnant that was the cause. Yes, just another night of disappointments in the Gilmore house. _'How many does that make now?'_ As she drove through Stars Hollow she didn't feel like going home yet so she stopped her car outside Luke's. Willing herself to go in after their argument earlier that day; although when she remembered back on the four weeks they didn't speak she knew she had to go in. Had to make everything okay so she didn't have to go to Sookie's for breakfast every morning again and to make sure she didn't make it any easier for her new neighbour to steal her best friend.

"We're closed." Luke grunted without looking up at the door until after he heard a small sniff.

"I know. Look, I'm sorry about earlier I was out of line. I wouldn't even have come here at all but I had a really crappy night and I really, really need a cup of coffee."

"Sure…coffee" he muttered. _'That's all I'm good for'_

"Just pretend I'm not me. I'm Mimi, a new customer. I've never been in here before. I was just walking down the street and I spotted this place. 'Ooh, hey, nice place.' And I came in. Now Mimi is going to pour herself a cup of coffee and sit over here way far away from you, and she promises, just as soon as she's done, she will rinse out her own cup and leave." Lorelai said as she walked down to the end of the counter and sat down, careful not look at Luke too much.

"This is the second time I let myself do this."

"Do what?" he asked, knowing he couldn't stay angry at her. Especially when she was so upset, as usual he wanted to help.

"Think I finally found it." She admitted.

"Found what?"

"Love, comfort, safety"

"Ah." Luke realised. _'This must be about that waste of space'_ he thought referring to Christopher who he heard had left yet again.

"I mean, first with Max, which _of course_, I screwed up, and then with Christopher, which of course, all the elements of the universe got together to screw up."

"Yup, it's tough when the universe is against you. That's like taking on the Manhattan garbage union."

"I always thought if he could just get it together, grow up – maybe we could do it. Maybe we could really be a family, in the stupid, traditional 'Dan Quayle, golden retriever, grow old together, wear matching jogging suits' kind of way. And then he did get it together – he became that guy…and he gets to be that guy with her. Chris is gonna have a baby with his girlfriend. He's gonna marry her…and he's gonna be there for her while she's pregnant and he's gonna be there with her while her child grows up, and he's gonna be there for her while she does…whatever it is she does. And I am in exactly the same place that I was in before." Lorelai said as she tried to hold back the tears, not because of Chris leaving but because she felt her life was the same as it had been a year ago, hell even five years ago…she was alone, she didn't have anyone.

"Is that so bad? I mean, you got Rory." '_Who have I got?'_

"Yes, I do."

"You got friends; you got a house, a job, apparently an iron stomach."

"No, it's not so bad. I'm lucky, I know. I just…I feel like I'm never gonna have it…the whole package, you know? That person, that couple life, and I swear, I hate admitting it because I fancy myself Wonder Woman, but…I really want it – the whole package." Lorelai said as she ran a finger around the mug, her eyesight blurred with tears. Luke couldn't help but look at her, the way her eyes welled with tears, how she fidgeted with her coffee mug and how her voice wavered as she spoke. So he performed to the role which they had perfected over the years and took a donut, placed it on a plate and walked it down the counter to her.

"You'll get it."

"How do you know?" Lorelai said looking up from her coffee too meet his gaze.

"I know." He repeated and did something that usually he would never do; he covered one of her hands with his protectively.

"How do you know?" Lorelai repeated, surprised at Luke's hand movement but she liked it. Just him being there, telling her it would be okay helped. He made her believe she would get _it_.

"Because I know, okay? I know. Now eat your donut." He said firmly before taking his hand off hers and refilling her coffee.

"I'm really not very hungry."

"Well, take it with you. You will be later." He responded knowingly.

"Forget it, first time customers are on the house. Mimi, was it?" Luke asked when he saw Lorelai reached for money from her purse.

"Yeah"

"Come again, Mimi."

"Thanks, I will. Seems like a very nice place"

"You gonna be okay?" Luke asked as he walked out from behind the counter to lock the door behind her.

"Well I'm not gonna die or anything" she said with a small smile.

"Well then it'll be a good day" he grinned, seeing the Lorelai humour coming back.

"Luke…" Lorelai started but stopped herself, wanting to ask him about Jennifer but not wanting to ruin the moment they were having. _'Are we having a moment?'_

"You want me to walk you home?" Luke asked, feeling protective even though he knew nothing would happen to her between now and the two minutes home.

"I have my jeep"

"Oh okay"

"…But a walk would be nice" she replied, not sure what she meant by it.

"Uh sure?" Luke said, _'Since when does Lorelai exercise when she doesn't need to?'_

"You want me to wait for you to close up?"

"I'm pretty much done just let me lock up" he said and she waited at the counter for a minute before he came out with a small Luke's bag and his jacket on. _'He's going to Jennifer's'_ she thought miserably when she saw the bag but let it go.

"Ready?"

"Lets go" Lorelai said hopping off the stool as Luke held the door open. They walked in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before the conversation started to flow. However they seemed to talk about everything but what was really on their minds. Rory, the Inn, the diner, town events…Taylor's latest escapades…everything but what they really wanted to. Lorelai didn't want to bring up Jennifer after the argument earlier and similarly Luke didn't want to talk about Jennifer with her. When they reached Lorelai's house they both walked up the front porch steps and stopped before reaching the front door.

"So…thanks for the walk, I'll get my jeep tomorrow. Although with all the car jackings lately I hope it's there in the morning" she quipped.

"Oh yeah it's so common here" Luke grinned.

"Why did you want to walk home?" he couldn't help but ask before he left, feeling like there was something she wanted to say but couldn't.

"I just wanted to" she cautiously replied.

"Okay…" he said unsurely.

"We never hang out anymore" Lorelai said. _'Are you just saying that because you want Luke or because you don't like him being with Jennifer' _an annoying voice in her head asked.

"Do you want to _"hang out"_ with me?" Luke asked taking a step closer as if it was some sort of secret they didn't want anyone else to hear. Lorelai's eyes widened and she inched closer, their eyes caught up in each others trying to read one another's mind. The silence was deafening, the space between them seemed to get smaller but she couldn't think of an acceptable answer. She wasn't equipped to say what she thought she wanted to.

"Mom"

"Rory" Lorelai said jumping slightly as she turned around and looked at her daughter who'd opened the front door.

"Sorry I didn't know who it was" Rory said closing the door again, wondering what her mom and Luke were doing on the porch.

"Well thanks for walking me home" she said hastily to break the silence.

"No problem"

"You going over to Jennifer's?" Lorelai couldn't resist asking, biting her bottom lip softly.

"Uh yeah just for a bit" he reluctantly replied.

"Well… night" _'She's going to have sex with Luke'_ Lorelai thought, feeling upset just at the thought of him like_ that_ with her…or with anyone.

"Here" he said handing her the Luke's bag.

"Thanks?" _'This is for me?'_

"It's just the doughnut you left and some coffee"

"Thanks Luke, for everything" Lorelai said and surprised them both by setting the bag at her feet, taking a step toward him and putting her arms around his neck for a hug. '_Why is she doing this?'_ Luke thought his mind in a whirl as he felt her body against his. A second or two passing before he reacted by putting his arms around her waist.

"No problem" he choked out as her cheek skimmed his when she pulled back from the hug grudgingly.

"Night" Lorelai said giving him a last smile before walking back into the house. Luke walked down Lorelai's steps slowly, taking a few deep breaths. _'I was just helping a friend'_ he thought as he walked to Jennifer's, convincing himself that he was looking forward to seeing her.

* * *

_Lol remember I said this fic would be done in 7 chapters...lol yeahh can't see that happening. I'll go for 9? Lucky number 7 plus two ). Anyway review if you want me to update soon...bribery? Oh yes baby !_


	6. The Next Step

Hey guys, been a couple of days since last update but I saw the ep today and got into a writing mood!

**Wendy:** The Mrs Kim thing last week was HILARIOUS, hehe that woman cracks me up. You ever watch the extra stuff on the season 5 dvd and they interview the actress who plays her and she has an American accent…so weird. I have been waiting 6 seasons for a drunk Lorelai, Lauren Graham pulled it off amazingly. Haha I had tequila the other night and thought of Lorelai at the wedding. Lol you are such a drama queen (fic wise), I try my best without making it too much like one of those crazy soap opera's. You're rooting for Lauren/Ethan in BTR? You're right a little twisted but who knows what my twisted mind will think of next!

**Tom** thanks for the reviews, I always read yours when you reviewed Maddy & Annick's fic and you're right, best LL fics ever.

**Baron Sengir** don't you just hate it when Rory ruins moments…grr to her even though I wrote it.

**Maddy** I love your reviews, they're always 5 lines long and the first 4 usually telling me how much I suck and how you hate me and then the last one is nice. You're one to talk about writing angst, have you forgotten about the fics you wrote ya crazy tramp! Speaking of which, start writing again soon!

**Kasia** I know I know you don't like to think of Luke with anyone else, truth is…neither do I. Actually when I have the weird thing when I feel worse when Luke is with someone than Lorelai, I know it's unfair but ah well t'is life. Since I'm the writer though I manage to cope a lot easier. Don't worry I'll get some LL time in soon… maybe.

**Orangesherbert7** lol yeah I could totally see Lorelai doing the whole _'Do you remember the last time we kissed thing'_ just to prove a point. Hehe stupid Jennifer wasn't getting Lorelai's doughnut! So funny when I mentioned bribing in the last chap at the end I meant I was bribing for reviews…then people started offering cookies so hell, then I decided I mean you guys can bribe me. P.S. I used to love sherbert!

**Lolabelle26** don't worry, I can give you some time to get me the pony and giant bag of candy…see I'm reasonable lol. Ahh don't worry, rambling reviews are the best.

**Purtyinpink71121 **you never know, I have excellent rambling abilities so I may hit lucky number seven DOUBLED and you'll be begging me to stop!

Thanks everyone for the reviews, you're all angels and I'm a review junkie! What did y'all think of the episode last night? Was good to see David Rosenthal's stuff, I actually really liked it apart from the bit at the end. How hot is Lauren Graham? Seriously… she was flying between LA & Virginia, was probably exhausted but she looks amazing. ends girl crush moment

Shutting up now for you to read the chap…

**

* * *

6 –The next step**

Luke and Lorelai spent the next couple of days as they always had; him as the guy behind the counter and her as the junkie in front of it. Since Rory was back Lorelai had been spending a lot of time with her when she wasn't working, so everyday he usually saw them for breakfast or dinner…sometimes both.

Lorelai sat at a table by the window with Rory, but was staring at Luke and Jennifer who were talking at the counter. _'At least they're not one of sickening couples'_ she thought. They weren't all snuggly and kissy and calling each other 'Sweetie.' At least not in public, but since Lorelai wasn't exactly invited to their private activities, she could only speculate.

And as if the speculation wasn't bad enough, since Jennifer had moved she had been trying to make some friends…one of them being Lorelai. So Lorelai had gone along and been friendly back. They weren't quite friends, they were _friendly_, friendish maybe? _'Is that a word?'_ She'd joined her for coffee whenever Lorelai was alone and Luke was busy, making a few girl to girl comments that Lorelai really hadn't wanted to know. Why the hell was she nice to Luke's girlfriends? She'd ended up liking Rachel, and it wasn't like she could have stopped being nice to Jennifer once Luke and her had gotten together.

"Stop staring" Rory said interrupting Lorelai's jealous thoughts.

"I'm not staring"

"Uh-huh"

"I'm not, I was simply reading the specials menu" she stated indignantly.

"Luke hasn't changed it in years"

"Well you never know, stranger things have happened Nancy Drew"

"Wow you're grumpy today"

"I'm hungry and Luke's too busy gettin' it on with Miss sports writer over there to get our breakfast" Lorelai said motioning over to the couple at the counter.

"I thought you said Jennifer was nice"

"Well when someone gets in the way of my food my opinions change" Lorelai said just as Luke came up to the table with their plates.

"It's about time; I thought you were killing the pig first" she remarked.

"Your welcome" Luke grunted before walking back to the counter. Lorelai returned her attention to her daughter for the rest of breakfast, ignoring any thoughts which invaded her head about Luke and Jen.

"I'm going to call over to see Lane" Rory said when she had finished pancakes.

"Fine leave me alone after I carried you for nine long months" Lorelai quipped sarcastically, not really wanting to be left alone with nothing to look at but Luke, Jennifer, Kirk and Jess.

"Bye mom"

Lorelai sat at the table looking out the window as she nursed half a cup of coffee.

"Hey anyone sitting here" a voice disrupted her thoughts.

"Jonathan hey, sure sit down. I didn't know you were still around" Lorelai smiled.

"Well work called so I had to get back for a couple of days, just drove back this morning"

"You drove all the way from New York for you sister, that's so sweet"

"Oh I live in Hartford, I thought you knew that"

"No I just assumed…" she trailed off, remembering Jen talking about her brother in New York.

"Jen and my other brothers live in New York"

"Ah okay, I just heard her talking about her brother and I assumed it was you but then she does have three so…"

"New York's great but I couldn't live there"

"Me neither" Lorelai agreed, unable to help but think of the many rants she'd heard from Luke over the years about New York and what a dump it was.

"So what are you back in town for?"

"Well Jen needs some things fixed with her house so I'm down helping"

"You're in construction?" she asked, realizing she didn't know what he did beside climb rocks.

"I'm an architect, but I know construction so can do a lot of repairs myself"

"That's so nice" Lorelai smiled, wondering what it would be like to have a brother. Sometimes she wondered if Rory ever wanted a sibling the way Lorelai had when she was younger …although Rory's childhood was a lot different than what Lorelai had. _'Thank goodness'_

"Well I try" Jonathan said and flashed a toothy grin.

"So what do you think of the Hollow?"

"I like the small town charm"

"Really" Lorelai smiled and raised an eyebrow as she smiled at him. _'He's such a nice distraction'_

"Really" he confirmed.

"Well I gotta go to work" she said looking at the time.

"Where do you work?"

"The independence Inn, I run it"

"I'll have to stop by there sometime"

"You do that" Lorelai said taking some money from her purse and leaving it on the table.

"Bye"

"See you later" Jonathan smiled standing up with her. Lorelai was surprised to see Luke looking towards her when she went to leave. She gave a smile and called "Bye Luke" before leaving, feeling much better than she had been before. 'I guess having Jen around isn't _all_ bad' she thought._ '…although I wish she was ugly, couldn't cook and was a sports hater with a handsome brother instead'_

**

* * *

Later that day…**

"Michel answer the phone" Lorelai called as she walked into the kitchen to find Sookie and coffee.

"Hey" Sookie greeted when she walked in.

"Hi" Lorelai said as she walked into the kitchen, picked a mug out of the cupboard and moved to the coffee machine.

"What you doing?" she inquired, surprised her friend wasn't stirring or chopping anything.

"I'm writing out a recipe for that chicken and honey dish I made the other night"

"Oh yeah, who's trying to steal your culinary secrets?"

"Jennifer"

"Jennifer, my new neighbor… Luke's new girl - - friend?" Lorelai asked incredulously. 'She takes Luke and now she's trying to move in on Sookie, I should warn Rory' Lorelai thought. She knew it sounded paranoid when she heard it in her head but she didn't care.

"Yeah"

"Oh" Lorelai replied quietly as she fiddled with the button on her shirt.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine"

"Lorelai…" Sookie said in a tone that said 'Yeah right'.

"Sookie, I think I'm jealous" she admitted almost inaudibly.

"Took you long enough," Sookie muttered.

Lorelai gave her a look. "Don't make this harder."

"Sorry." Sookie knew that it was a big step for Lorelai.

"I really do like Jennifer, but when she touches Luke I want to chop off her hands."

Sookie nodded knowingly. "Yeah, that would be jealousy."

"And then deep fry her fingers."

"I get it"

"What should I do?"

"Are you sure you're not just feeling weird that Luke has someone now?"

"I like him Sookie, this whole Jennifer thing just made me realize it" her shoulders slumped as she said it.

"Well you need to decide if you're willing to lay it on the line"

"He likes her a lot, I can tell" she admitted as much as it hurt.

"I know" Sookie said sadly as she examined her friends brooding look.

"I should let him be happy"

"Just give it some time"

"Right...right. I need to get back to the front, Michel is probably still checking his reflection in the mirror rather than answering the phone" Lorelai said rolling her eyes. However when she got back to the reception desk she found Michel talking to Jonathan, and he was actually being polite. 'Has the world as we know it ended?'

"Y'know I know the small town charm and Michel isn't it"

"Did you know you can buy Armani suits on eBay?" Jonathan grinned when he turned to Lorelai with a sly grin.

"I'll get right on that" Lorelai wisecracked.

"You disgust me" Michel practically spat out before turning his back to them.

"So what can I do for you, Jen thrown you out already?"

"Not quite although tomorrow night she wants me out of the house so I was wondering if you would join me for dinner"

"Why's she throwing you out, pajama party?"

"She's cooking a romantic meal for Luke, so either I go back to Hartford for the night or you take pity on an orphan"

"Well I am a compassionate person" she said plastering a smile on her face. 'I bet that's what she wanted Sookie's recipe for, a romantic meal with Luke…figures he would like a woman who cooks'.

"Pick you up at seven; maybe we can catch a movie too?"

"Sounds good" she said continuing to smile.

"Cool well I'll let you get back to work"

"Yes I'm dying to get back to it" Lorelai quipped.

"See you tomorrow night"

"Yeah, bye"

**

* * *

Later that evening in the diner…**

Luke was busy with the dinner rush, there was an elementary school play that night and apparently everyone had decided to head to the diner for dinner. Patty and Babette were gossiping about god knows what in the corner, Bootsy was trying to chat up some fifty year old woman and Kirk was counting the calories in the ketchup he'd just put on his burger…just regular Stars Hollow. Jennifer sat eating a chicken salad at the counter in front of him as she talked about the latest Yankee versus Brave's game; it was an scene they'd been practicing daily since she'd moved.

"Luke is there any chance you can get Caesar to close up tomorrow night?"

"Sure he wanted a few extra hours anyway; why you want to do something?" he replied, not looking up from pouring some coke in glasses for customers.

"Well I want to cook you dinner"

"Yeah?" he smiled.

"Yeah, good food, romantic ambience" she flirted.

"Sounds good" he smiled. It constantly surprised him how comfortable he felt with someone he hadn't know that long, how they'd fallen into a familiar pattern with each other so quickly.

"Maybe you can spend the night" she said quietly. He'd been putting it off since they'd started seeing each other, he didn't even know why…it's not like he'd gotten any in a while. Rachel was the last person he'd slept with. It just seemed like he needed a little time to get used to everything, so 'early deliveries' and 'Jess' were usually used as excuses about why he couldn't stay.

"Isn't your brother staying with you?" he questioned as he grabbed two plates from the kitchen and handed them to customers down the counter.

"He's got a date with Lorelai tomorrow night so he won't be back until later"

"Yeah?" he said looking up quickly, feeling his heart lurch in his chest.

"They seem to have hit it off" she shrugged.

"That's great" he said giving a forced smile because even though he really did like Jennifer a lot, hearing that Lorelai was going on a date still affected him.

"So we're on tomorrow night"

"I'll be there, around seven okay?"

"Good. Right well I gotta get back, gotta write up the game for the magazine"

"Have fun" he smiled, finding it amazing that she was so successful in her work but had decided to live the small town life, content with submitting work via email. He'd read some of her work, it was great, if possible she knew more about baseball than even he did.

* * *

Lorelai wandered up and down the aisle of Doose's market with Rory as they stocked up for a movie night. Marshmallows, red vines, chips, gummy bears, pizza, fried chicken and every other food that was going to block up their arteries filled their baskets. She frowned at the kids who screamed and ran around the store like lunatics, 'Must be Jackie Petrinski's kids' she muttered to herself assuming the elementary play had let out already. 

"Snowballs?" Rory asked holding up the coconut and chocolate covered marshmallows.

"Do you have to ask?" Lorelai asked with a roll of eyes.

"I'm going to see Dean" Rory said when she spotted him stocking cans at the side of the store.

"Go make kissy faces, meet you at check-out"

Luke walked around the market picking up items he didn't really even need; he just thought that if he bought enough stuff he may be able to hide what he was really there for. Last thing he wanted was for the town to be gossiping about him but the pharmacy in Woodbridge was closed and he didn't have time to go to Hartford. So he'd gone to the market just before it was due to close because he knew from experience that it was quietest around this time.

"Hey burger boy" Lorelai said when she recognized the flannel and backwards baseball cap.

"Lorelai…hi" he said surprised.

"Late night shopping" she commented as she peeked a look in his basket which he moved to his other hand to partially hid it.

"Yeah, you having another movie night?" Luke asked wanting to change the subject.

"Yup, hence the junk food…although I don't just eat this kind of stuff on movie nights, just a larger quantity" she rambled.

"Right…" he said grinning a little, always find her ramblings amusing, not that he would ever admit that to her.

"Watch out" Lorelai said pulling Luke out of the way of the Petrinksi kids who ran through the aisle's swinging strawberry laces pretending to be cowboys. Unfortunately as Lorelai pulled Luke by the sleeve of his flannel he dropped his basket and was pressed up against her as she backed into the shelf. _'Second time in a week I've had Luke's body pressed against mine…is god trying to make this more difficult?'_ Lorelai thought to herself as her boobs pressed up against his chest. He stepped back from her and took a deep breath, wondering how yet again they'd gotten so close again.

"Stupid kids, isn't it past their bedtime" he muttered after he stepped back and got down on the floor, scrambling for all his items that had fallen from his basket. Lorelai got down to help lift his items. Luke tried to grab the small box from the floor before she saw it but alas it was the first thing she went to pick up. She wasn't really looking at what she was picking up until she saw the look on Luke's face which caused her to glance down at the small box.

"Oh god… sorry" Lorelai said when she realized it was a pack of Trojans, size Large in her hand and dropped them immediately. Luke picked them up quickly and stuck them in his pocket swiftly as if the out of sight, out of mind theory really worked…it didn't as Lorelai got up and muttered something about finding Rory before disappearing.

Lorelai felt something funny in her chest; maybe she was having a heart attack. Maybe she had indigestion from the pizza and stale chinese she'd had for dinner. Maybe it was that acid reflux disease they were always advertising pills for on television. Although she knew it was none of those things, it was the box of condoms Luke was buying that was the reason for the pain in her chest.

_

* * *

I'll say it again, retract the claws and put the pitchforks down. Remember I'm a diehard JJ ;) ...ooh & review!_


	7. Dating gone wrong

Hey dudes & dudettes. Would have updated sooner but site was down…that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it !

**orangesherbert7:** Haha so many people have commented on the 'large' thing…wonder why raises eyebrows. Don't feel stupid about the cookies thing, I loveeee cookies, chocolate chip preferably but I'll take it them in any form :D. I may still like Sherbert I just haven't had it in like 48259430 years…okay not that long but not for a long time. I used to have a really sweet tooth and I'd get the sherbet on those liquorish things or lollies…was pretty good back then. Next time I see some I shall try it again. You'll have to see if Luke uses his now infamous large Trojans lol.

**Hollywoodgrl**: Haha you called me Miss Cat…sounds so proper!

**Wendy:** Yeah Jen and Jon, I didn't even notice the alliteration until you pointed it out. Actually I came up with the name Jonathan because my brother is called that and at the time I was trying to think of a name he was bugging me so abra kadabra. Haha my other brother is called Chris…oh yes what a sucky name since I started watching GG. Lauren Graham was amazing in the wedding thing. Yeah Anna pissed me off this week, she still likes Luke, so obvious. Wish the two of them (LL I mean) would just elope so she would realise that Lorelai ain't just a passing ship…but of course that won't happen because where's the drama in that?

**Daphnetjuh**: it's all about build up, I mean AS-P had four years of it…I won't be that bad lol. Well here's the update so you can put your pitchfork away for another day, I hope.

**Pishymeow** lol no my middle name isn't "cliffhanger" but I am considering a legal change. Y'all know that deep down you love them really.

**Gymtig:** From your review to my ears, I hope he doesn't either!

**

* * *

7 – Dating gone wrong**

Lorelai had gone home that night with her stomach in a twist, so much so that she felt she couldn't eat anymore after only one piece of Pizza and half a packet of Red Vines. She'd gone to bed early that night telling Rory she felt ill…it wasn't a complete lie, her stomach had felt funny since the incident market.

Luke was standing behind the counter refilling the coffee machine when Rory came into the diner the next morning, minus her mom.

"Hey Luke" Rory said walking up to the counter.

"Hi Rory, uh where's your mom?" he asked curiously.

"Oh she's being weird this morning, wanted to get some cake for breakfast from Weston's so I need two to-go coffees" Rory shrugged and didn't notice Luke's face drop slightly when he knew her mom wouldn't be coming in that morning. _'She's avoiding me'_

"Weston's serves coffee y'know"

"I know but we both wanted yours, mom's just being weird"

"Your mom's_ always _weird" he grumbled as he poured two to-go cups of coffee.

"Yeah I know but she's been even stranger than usual since last night."

"Really?" Luke asked, wondering if it was what happened between them at the market. Wondering if she really cared or if she had just been embarrassed by his choice of purchase.

"Maybe she's just nervous about her date" Rory shrugged, trying to think of possible reasons for the increased weirdness but all she could think of was the date that night.

"Maybe" Luke responded and set the two cups in a carrier and handed them to her.

"Thanks. See you later" Rory smiled as she picked up the cups and walked outside and over to Weston's to meet her mom.

**

* * *

That evening…**

Luke was up in his apartment trying to figure out what to wear to dinner; he knew that since Jennifer would probably be dressed up for a romantic dinner that he should make an effort. So he took out the only clothes he thought would suit the occasion and instead of thinking about the woman he was spending the evening with he was thinking of the woman who bought him the clothes. Lorelai.

Lorelai was glad Jonathan had given her some idea as to what dress was required, he said comfortable and casual…she had a feeling that it wouldn't be a regular date. _'I just hope he doesn't take me rock climbing'_ she thought mentally listing the amount of accidents she would have doing that. Rory was staying over at Lane's that night so she wasn't there for Lorelai to get an opinion off although when she pulled on her stretchy jeans and a dressy red top she decided on it and then moved on to find her choice of footwear.

* * *

Luke felt strange in the formal clothes, not used to being out of jeans and flannel He'd tried to leave through the back door but Jess saw him and mocked mercilessly until he was half way down the street. As he approached Jennifer's he heard a woof whistle come from Babette's house. 

"You go get her Luke" Babette yelled from her porch and Luke simply ducked his head down and walked on.

"Hey" Jonathan said as he climbed out of his car outside Lorelai's house and saw Luke..

"Hi" Luke said looking Jennifer's brother who wore smart jeans with a light blue black dress shirt.

"You heading over?"

"Yeah" _'What else would I be doing?_'

"Jen's been cooking all evening so enjoy it"

"You too"

"Bye"

"Bye" Luke replied as he watched Jonathan walk up Lorelai's steps but continued to walk towards Jennifer's when he saw Jonathan ring the doorbell. When he knocked on Jennifer's door he waited a minute for Jennifer to answer.

"Hi" he said, looking her up and down and appreciated the casual black dress she was wearing.

"Hey'" she smiled greeting him with a light kiss _'God he looks good'_

"Brought some wine" he said holding up the bottle.

"Thanks. Come on in" she said and he walked in behind her, taking off his jacket and hanging it on the end of the banister. When he walked past all the boxes in the hall to the kitchen he noted the effort she'd gone to with the meal, two lit candles sat on the table in the dimly lit room giving it a romantic ambience.

"Wow you went all out" he stated.

"Well it's a special occasion" she said raising an eyebrow and he grinned back at her.

"I'll get us some wine"

* * *

Lorelai opened the door to find Jonathan on her porch looking dressy casual and very handsome…not that he wasn't every other time she'd seen him. 

"Hi" she smiled a little shyly.

"Hi"

"You look really nice" he complimented.

"Thanks you look good too" she replied blushing slightly.

"So you ready?"

"Yeah just give me two seconds" Lorelai said turning and grabbing her coat.

"Let's go" she smiled and walked out in front as he closed the door behind.

"So where are we going?"

"Do you like ice skating?" he asked, hoping she did or he would have to resort to the orthodox dinner and a movie date

"Yes! I haven't been in _years_ though."

"Well there's a rink like ten minutes from here and then we'll go to dinner?"

"Sounds good" Lorelai smiled, surprising herself by how much she was looking forward to the date. The confusing Luke feelings plus the embarrassing incident with him the night before had clouded her head so much so that her date with Jonathan was put out of her head until that evening.

When they got to the ice rink it was pretty busy, there were a lot of younger people around as they queued up for some skates. When they got their skates Lorelai was overjoyed to see that her skates looked very new, the idea of a million people wearing skates before her freaked her out…the less people the better.

"No wonder you wanted to go here, show off to your skating skills" Lorelai laughed as she watched how skating came so easily to Jonathan whereas she grabbed onto his jacket to try and get used to the skates.

"Well I used to play ice hockey"

"And you have all your teeth, congratulations" she laughed as he grabbed her hand. She felt like she was back in high school; although technically she'd never gone on an ice-skating date before but she imagined she would have enjoyed it back then too.

"Thanks it was quite an accomplishment"

**

* * *

Elsewhere…**

Luke and Jennifer had just finished their starter of an Antipasto salad which was a nice balsamic vinegar and oil mixture with oregano, parsley and Parmesan whipped in.

"This is all great" he said as she set his plate down in front of him, she'd prepared a grilled chicken with Portobello mushroom sauce.

"You like?"

"It's nice to have someone cook for me for a change" he said smiling across the table at her.

"Yeah I bet sometimes you get sick of burgers" she commented.

"Sometimes?" he joked as he refilled both of their glasses again. They ate in a comfortable silence in between conversations, both of their minds occasionally wondering to their date activities later.

* * *

"You're getting pretty good at this" Jonathan commented when Lorelai started to try and race him. 

"I was just pretending to be bad at the start"

"Right" he laughed.

"Check out these dudes" Lorelai said as she motioned over to the number of twenty-year old guys who'd just got on the ice. Apparently it was a bachelor party…which Lorelai had found strange, usually when she thought bachelor party she thought of a pub crawl with a lot of beer mixed with wine and hard liquor resulting in a puking party the next morning.

"Maybe they're in a hockey team" he laughed when he noted all the fairly large guys could all skate pretty well.

"You want to go now?" he asked about twenty minutes later when he felt hungry.

"Yeah I'm starved"

"Good me too" he grinned.

"Race you to the side" he said as he started to skate off and Lorelai went after him but unfortunately was to busy trying too win that she hadn't seen on of the guys from the bachelor party who was going the wrong way around the rink. His skate hit Lorelai's causing her to fall and her ankle to twist as the guy tried to keep himself from falling on top of her which only made it worse.

"Are you okay?" Jonathan asked when he had seen her fall and quickly skated over.

"My ankle" she moaned as she held it in pain. Some first aid people quickly came onto the ice to check she was okay before they all helped her off.

"Good news is it isn't broken but it's badly twisted" one of the first aid men said as they held an ice pack to it.

'_Great'_ Lorelai thought to herself sarcastically.

"You should probably get her home to rest it"

"I will" he said, feeling awful that he'd brought her there in the first place, wondering what was so bad about just dinner and a movie. Jonathan and the first aid guy helped Lorelai get to his car. _'This is so embarrassing'_ she thought as they carried her to the car.

**

* * *

Back in Stars Hollow…**

Luke and Jennifer had finished dinner and were in the living room watching television which was soon forgotten when they started kissing and Luke pulled her closer and let his tongue slip into her mouth. The kisses escalated to the point where Jennifer had started playing with the bottom of his sweatshirt, lifting it slightly as she got up and led him towards the stairs. Before they had climbed the first stair the front door was flung open, interrupting their activities and the two of them quickly separated.

"Jonathan, hi, what are you doing here?" Jennifer asked shooting her brother a dirty look when he came in and apparently ignored the romantic atmosphere.

"Date kinda failed" he said and Luke's ears automatically perked up.

"Why what happened?"

"Well we went ice skating and as we were about to leave the ice to go to dinner some guy hit Lorelai and she fell and twisted her ankle pretty badly"

"Some guy hit Lorelai?" Luke said, his tone a little louder than he'd intended.

"No, well yeah but it was accidental. He was going the wrong way around the rink and Lorelai hadn't seen him, their skates caught…and well yeah I brought her home"

"Is she going to be okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern. _'Who the hell goes ice-skating on a first date?'_

"It's not broken but she can't walk so well"

"That sucks" Jennifer said as Luke just stood there, redoing one of his buttons before digging his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I'll see how she is tomorrow" he said sitting down on the couch.

"I should go" Luke said.

"But…" Jennifer started giving him a funny look and Jonathan walked into the kitchen to get some food, leaving the two of them alone.

"I thought you were going to stay" she said.

"Your brothers here, it's weird" he replied as he gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"I guess. See you tomorrow then?"

"Come by for breakfast" he said and leaned in for a quick kiss before he thanked her for dinner and left.

* * *

Lorelai lay on the couch where Jonathan had left her with the ice pack on her ankle, he'd offered to stay but she said she was fine. Although the ice in the pack was melted and was now just cold water so the word fine was seriously out of date by that point. When she heard a knock on the door she wondered if Babette had seen her being helped into the house, called Patty who called Rory and told her about her ankle. Which she figured by the time it reached Rory would probably be at the point of amputation. Although in her head she knew t wouldn't be Rory because Rory didn't knock to come into her own house. 

"Come in" she shouted and was surprised when she saw Luke in her hallway, although he didn't look like typical Luke. He was dressed up in a tight black sweater and smart black slacks. He had shaved but she could see the short stubble had already started to re-appear. His hair, it was a rare occurrence she'd ever see it because usually it was covered with a backwards baseball cap but tonight he'd left the cap at home. Tonight he was dressed up. Tonight Luke was all '_GQ'ed' _up for Jennifer.

"Hi" she said giving him a puzzled expression.

"Hi"

"What are you doing here? There a fashion show in town I wasn't invited to?" She quipped, ignoring the feelings she had when she saw Luke. _'He looks good'_ she thought but immediately tried to push the thoughts of him out of her head.

"I heard about your ankle, I just wanted to see you were okay" he mumbled.

"I'm fine" she lied as he came closer and looked down at her ankle which was covered with the now 'water' pack. He gave her a look which asked permission to look and she simply nodded as lifted the water pack to see the severely bruised and now swelled ankle, she flinched slightly when he put the pack back on it.

"You got any ice?" he asked, knowing for sports injuries he'd had before that the injury needs to be iced continually to reduce swelling.

"Mmm nope, margarita's the other night finished the ice off"

"You have a bag of peas or something?" Luke asked, thinking of something she could put on her ankle.

"In this house" she scoffed and Luke rolled his eyes.

"I'll see what's there" he mumbled as he walked into the kitchen and went to the freezer where he found frozen pizza's, ice-cream and a sock. _'I don't even want to know' _he thought taking out the Ben and Jerry's.

"You hungry?" Lorelai asked when he came back with ice-cream.

"No"

"I'm starving, pass the ice-cream" she said holding out a hand.

"This is for your ankle"

"Just because it has the word Ice in it doesn't mean it's good for ankles" she cleverly remarked.

"Keep this on it. I'll be back in twenty minutes"

"Luke…" Lorelai started, about to tell him that she was fine but when he turned around and saw the concern written all over his face she changed her mind. She wanted him to come back, wanted him to take care of her like her always had and always seemed to want to.

"Thanks" she smiled and he gave her a nod before disappearing through the front door as fast as he'd come in.

TBC

* * *

Little anecdote from me, when I was eleven I was playing soccer and I was up at the goal and had the ball when this dirty player on the other team purposely kicked my legs and tripped me _(even after I'd kicked the ball into the goal)_ and I fell and hit my nose off the concrete. The teacher didn't have any ice so I had to put two choc ice's on it and when my mum picked me up she got me some ice and then I proceeded to open the choc ice and eat it…they really _aren't_ great for injuries. Haha I still scored the goal and my team still won…even years later and I still remember...cheating bstards lol excuse my french. 

Anyway review por favour, I didn't make Luke and Jennifer sleep together, that's gotta be worth a review right?


	8. Sleepover Surprise

**Kat **– I can sooo see Kirk counting his calories in ketchup, the guy's a looper but he keeps it whimsical. Ha-ha I so should have added a 'doll' to the Babette thing, that woman is quality, 3 her. Thanks for reading !

**Maddy **– His ears perked up like a cartoon character or something…I'm so picturing that in my head right now. Ahh hangovers suck, I'm glad I made it almost bearable with the update. Well Miss Maddy what have I told you about drinking, and under 21…shock horror. Just drink plenty of water. And yes water does go stale, usually after just a couple of days but two months old…seriously dude just let it go & throw it out lol. Ahh the soccer accident was okay, it was 4 days before Christmas so I had two black eyes, classic. Especially lovely for photographs. I don't understand how you twisted your ankle standing on a couch, crazy. Although my friend twisted hers walking off a sidewalk so I can believe you lol.

**Pishymeow – **I agree, Luke is as slow as a pregnant tortoise. I will think about the truck idea…kidding…it'll be a bus

**Charmedchic72 – **Now that's dedication when you're reading my fic at 1.15am even tho you had a test. How did it go btw? Good, bad, in between? I think the ice-skating was a good idea for a date, it's so much better than the generic dinner and a movie. I can skate backwards…mann now I want to go ice-skating!

**Wendy** - Apparently a lot of people are glad that Luke didn't do the "deed" with Jennifer, I wonder why? You know what's weird, I hate Luke being with someone else much more than if Lorelai were. Aww Christopher was your first crush. Mine was this guy Mikey who was my BFF (lol) when I was 5. David Sutcliffe is nice in a boyish way but Luke is the best, he's a real man ;). I know I was updating a lot faster at the beginning but I haven't got much time to write anymore…lol or even sleep, I think I'm an insomniac.

**Lindsey** – I appreciate the lack of a screaming review lol. Weird but I think you're a mind reader, well not totally but you're on the right track about the chapter. Stay cool !

**purtyinpink71121** - I was soooo close to buying the movie 'Pretty in Pink' today because I really want to see it, is it good? I just know Molly Ringwald from the Breakfast Club which is pretty cool.

**Depressedggfan** – I agree, I feel like I need to stock up on anti-depressants before watching an episode now. One question, where is the show we all fell in love with? It certainly hasn't shown it's face for a while now…thank god for fics.

**smileyGGfan** – Haha the random sock is so something I could see Lorelai having, like the time in the 5th season where she was cooking her socks in the oven when Luke came to pick her up for their date. Ahhh good times. Ice-skating is a good date choice, I love it, I went at Christmas but I have such an urge to go again now.

**orangesherbert7-** I haven't played soccer since that fateful day…kidding, lol knowing me I probably was out playing again the next day…or later that afternoon. Luke kissing someone else is so wrong. I'm so glad we never saw him kiss either Rachel or Nicole. Remember the time Luke and Nicole were staying at the Inn, even her touching his leg freakin' annoyed me…hated Nicole with the burning passion of a thousand suns. Too much, what's too much?

**Java Lava** – Speaking from experience being hit in the face with a soccer ball is not fun, stings like a biatch! I was playing on the beach once and got hit in the face and because there was wet sand all over the ball it was even worse. Lol is it mean that I laughed at you tripping over the ball…I would laugh at myself if I did that. Although I'm sure at one time or another I _have_ done that.

**

* * *

8 – Sleepover Surprise**

"_Luke…" Lorelai started, about to tell him that she was fine but when he turned around and saw the concern written all over his face she changed her mind. She wanted him to come back, wanted him to take care of her like her always had and always seemed to want to._

"_Thanks" she smiled and he gave her a nod before disappearing through the front door as fast as he'd come in_.

Luke, as promised arrived back at Lorelai's house twenty minutes later with a bag of ice, a pair of crutches and a bag of food. Lorelai was still lying in the same position on the couch as she had been before.

"Hey" she smiled when she looked up at him, instant deja-vu to Rory's sixteenth birthday when Luke had turned up with a bag of ice.

"Hi"

"Crutches? My ankle isn't broken" She observed when he put some crutches he was carrying next to the couch.

"Yeah but it'll help you for the next day or so just in case"

"Mmm good idea, they look fun but why do you have crutches just lying about?" she asked with a curious smile.

"They were my dad's" Luke shrugged.

"Oh…sorry" she said feeling a little silly that she hadn't guessed that, she couldn't imagine Luke ever on crutches.

"I'll go fill the icepack" he said before walking through the hall to the kitchen. He filled the small ice pack bag before putting the remainder of the big bag of ice he'd brought in the freezer, again not wanting to know what the Santa sock was doing in the freezer.

"I don't know what to watch" Lorelai groaned as she flicked through the channels.

"Maybe if you stuck to one station you could actually tell what was on" he grumped in typical Luke fashion.

"Meanie" he said sticking out her tongue.

"Food" he said handing her the brown paper bag he'd brought from the diner.

"Angel" she said shooting him one of her smiles. The smiles that lit up her face making her eyes sparkle and seem so much bluer than they'd done before. Her smile which always seemed to illicit a grin from him whether he wanted to or not. When she was distracted by food he removed the ice-cream tub from her ankle and replaced it with the icepack, the brush of his fingers against her bare skin along with the sudden coolness of the ice caused shivers through her body.

"Oh when Harry met Sally, I love this movie" Lorelai said after a few more seconds of channel surfing, finding the idea of annoying Luke while doing it just an added bonus.

"What is it about?"

"Well Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal meet when she gives him a ride from Chicago to New York…" Lorelai started to explain, moving her legs and patting the seat signaling for Luke to sit down.

"Anyway so then they become best friends and…hold on why am I explaining it to you? Just watch it"

"Sounds like a boring chick flick" he grumbled but sat down next to her anyway, careful to keep her ankle stable.

"Well Luke Danes maybe you need to get your hearing checked" Lorelai teased as she lay her legs over Luke's thighs and he continued to hold the ice pack to her ankle.

* * *

Half-way through the movie Lorelai noticed Luke's fingers were stroking her leg, she wasn't sure if it was subconscious or not but she was afraid to move in case he realized what he was doing and subsequently stopped. 

"You think men and women can be just friends?" Lorelai asked breaking the silence during the car scene with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal who were having the _'Men and women can't be friends because sex always gets in the way' _argument.

"You're breaking your own movie rule" Luke grumbled after they'd had to spend five minutes at the start of the movie going through the rules.

"Rules are made to be broken"

"Right…" he said while rolling his eyes, knowing she would have an excuse. Truthfully now that he'd started watching the movie he wished they'd watched another movie because this one was hitting a little too close for his comfort level.

"So do you?"

"I dunno" he shrugged.

"Well I'm friends with Michel and I'm not attracted to _him_" she commented.

"Thank god."

"…And then there's you" _'Who I am attracted to... but nothing can happen because you have a stupid girlfriend now'_

"I guess that means men and women can be friends then" _'If the guy never takes his shot' _he said keeping the eye contact, wandering if she'd say anything to make him think otherwise.

"Yeah…" she said trailing off and the two of them broke the gaze uncomfortably, the tension was palpable as they turned their attentions back to the movie_. 'Why can he be friends with me but he can't be just friends with Jennifer?' _

"So how come you came over?" she asked in spite of herself and her jealous thoughts.

"What do you mean?" he asked looking away from the television again.

"I mean weren't you at _Jennifer's_?" Lorelai asked, finding it a little difficult to even say the woman's name. She wandered if he called her Jen or had a nickname for her, he'd never seemed like a nickname type of guy but maybe when he was dating someone he was different…she didn't know what 'relationship Luke' was like._ 'I'm glad he calls me Lorelai' _she decided to herself, never having like the 'Lor' nickname that Chris insisted on always calling her.

"I was but then Jonathan came back and I left"

"He interrupted you?" she asked, not even wanting to think of what he interrupted them from, maybe what he had been buying supplies for when he was in the market the other night.

"N...He…well…I wanted to check you were okay" he said feeling a little flustered.

"I am. I…I just don't want to keep you here if you were y'know, wanting to…go back" Lorelai said trying to be understanding but she hoped he wouldn't."

"It's fine plus I want to see if these idiots realize what's right in front of them" Luke said motioning to the television.

"That makes two of us" Lorelai said quietly before following Luke's lead and turning her attention back to the movie.

**

* * *

The next morning…**

Luke opened his eyes slowly and it took him a few seconds to remember where he was. He looked over at Lorelai who was sleeping soundly with her legs still draped across his lap, one curled slightly under the other. The TV was still on playing some cartoon that features some crazy sponge wearing a tie. The movie was over, the ice pack had long since melted and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful Lorelai looked in her sleep.

"Lorelai" he said rubbing her arm to wake her up.

"Mmm"

"Lorelai"

"Death" she grumbled.

"Wake up"

"What the hell?" she asked when she realized it was Luke who was trying to wake her and not Rory. _'Is this another dream?'_ she asked remembering the last crazy one she'd had when she was married and pregnant with Luke's two-headed twins named Leopold and Loeb.

"We fell asleep" he explained as if he could read her quizzical expression.

"My neck kills" she groaned.

"Mine isn't great either" he grumped as he carefully got out from under her legs.

"What time is it?" Lorelai asked as she sat up, wincing slightly when she hit her ankle against the coffee table.

"Nine" _'It's a good thing I was getting Caesar to open' _

"I need to call Rory" she said standing up and started to limp over to the phone, her ankle was still a little sore but much better from the night before.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I need to use the phone" she argued

"You shouldn't be walking" he said sternly.

"I'm fine" she said as she rolled her eyes. _'Luke's being like this over a twisted ankle, I wonder what he would be like if I was really pregnant?'_ she wondered but kicked herself for giving into those thoughts.

"That's why you're limping" he grunted in reply as he put an arm around her shoulder and made her lean on him.

"I need to call Rory" she complained and he grabbed the phone and handed her it.

"I need to get back to the diner. Tell her to call by and I'll send you back with breakfast"

"Thanks Luke" she smiled. _'He's my Harry'_

* * *

"Luke?" Jonathan said giving a curious look when he saw his sister's boyfriend coming out of Lorelai's front door in the same smart clothes he'd been wearing the night before. 

"Jonathan hey" he said rubbing the back of his neck nervously knowing that it didn't look great that he was coming out of Lorelai's house so early in the morning wearing the same clothes from the night before. Jonathan was holding a bunch of flowers that he presumed were for Lorelai and he internally rolled his eyes at the gesture wondering why he hadn't helped Lorelai out the night before which he's sure she would have appreciated more_. 'Then you wouldn't have been able to look after her…and you would have had sex with Jennifer'_ he thought to himself. There was the eternal dilemma, if he could choose; which would he have wanted?

"What are you doing here?"

"Just helping out Lorelai"

"Uh-huh"

"Should get going, bye" Luke said quickly brushing past Jonathan and heading down the porch steps. Wondering what Jennifer would say when it got back to her that he'd spent the night at Lorelai's. '_We're just friends, Jennifer will understand'_ he told himself.

"Hey Lorelai" Jonathan said after giving a small knock and walking in when he heard her yell 'Come on in'.

"Jonathan, hey what are you doing here?" she said surprised.

"I came to see how the ankle was"

"Much better thanks, still a little sore but by tonight I'll be ready to hit the ice again" she quipped

"Maybe you should stay away from it for a while" he laughed.

"Probably"

"I brought you these" he said handing her the small bunch of flowers he'd picked up that morning from the little market near the diner.

"Thanks, you really didn't have to buy flowers" she said smiling, wondering where her Betty Boop vase was for her to put them in.

"So I saw Luke there, was everything okay?"

"Uh yeah, he came by last night to make sure I was okay and we kinda fell asleep" she said in an unsure tone, not just because they'd gone out the night before but because Jennifer was his sister…and Luke's girlfriend.

"Right…"

* * *

Luke ran around the diner serving breakfast to the usual crowd. He'd managed to sneak in the back and change before people saw him. Unfortunately Taylor had already been in that morning no doubt to talk about some other crazy town event; and Jess had stupidly told him that Luke had stayed out for the night and wasn't there even though Jess knew that even if he _had _been there he wouldn't have wanted to talk anyway. Of course Patty had been there and jumped to conclusions, dirty conclusions. 

"You look tired" Patty said with a wink.

"What do you want Patty?" he sighed.

"I thought you'd be in a better mood today after a good night's fun" Patty hinted and Luke just rolled his eyes. As he went over to take Kirk's order he heard the bell above the diner ring and he glanced over to see Jennifer staring at him with a funny look.

"Hi" he said giving her a small smile but didn't lean in for a kiss

"Can we talk?" she interrupted.

"I'm working

"We need to talk _now_" she said more seriously, not waiting for a response before she walked over behind the curtain.

"She looked mad" Kirk stated

"Shut up Kirk" Luke snapped as he followed Jennifer behind the curtain, having no doubts in his mind as to what exactly or _who_ exactly Jennifer wanted to talk about.

* * *

___I got the urge to watch 'When Harry met Sally' while writing this so I'm watching it now. Haha who doesn't love the fake orgasm scene...funny stuff. Anyway don't forget to review!_  



	9. Conflicts & Confessions

**smileyGGfan:** Of course you got a shout-out, I love your long reviews! I was trying to think of a movie that would most reflect them and 'When Harry met Sally' just came to mind. I love Luke 'the ice-man' as well, hehe I still love to watch that scene even five years later. Woot for me using one of your vocabulary words. Tell me your next one and I will somehow add it into one of my fics in the next chapter! I agree with the whole no nickname thing, when 'he-who-shall-not-be-named' calls her Lor it drives me crazy…grr I'm still fuming from that crappy finale. Spongebob must be extremely strange for those who'd never seen him before, I can just imagine Luke looking at him as _"__crazy sponge wearing a tie"._

**Ocdwithlhg:** Maddy May a job where you have to get up at 7am on a Saturday is a job that I would _not_ like to have…I tend to not sleep during the week and then by Friday I just crash and burn into my bed so sleep-ins are crucial to me! Lol I really appreciated the quick 'I hate you' and departure when I told you there were only 3 more chaps of BTR.

**Java Lava:** I always get hurt playing sports too but it never stops me. When I was ten I had to get 12 stitches in my hand after I fell skateboarding and my dad stitched me up (he's a doctor don't worry) and I was out again within an hour!

**LukeAndLorelaiAllways:**Is the movie with the sperm in the hair not '_Something about Mary'…_I think so, but I do love that too, funny stuff!

**Wendy:** Lol I know I usually make people nice but I'm a very chilled out person and don't really have any enemies so I find it hard to believe that not everyone has some good in them…hence the happy endings. Yeah I find it hard to believe Luke never really dated for years, at least not that we saw. I think that's why Luke with someone else drives me a lot crazier than Lorelai with someone else, does that make sense? Mann the whole pad in the front of his jeans was hot, why doesn't he still do that? I find myself wondering sometimes. Lol I tots am an insomniac, I wish it was because of fic reading tho but lately it's been because of stupid work grrrr. I feel so honored that BTR was the first fic you ever read, how did you find out about it? Just out of curiosity.

**hay2thelee:** Haha yes "thirdly" is a word and I think Jennifer and Lorelai won't be best friends anytime soon!

**Lindsey: **Well you know me and my cliffhangers, keeps people reading! Haha love the story, so you got pushed in a pool with your cell phone, that SUCKS but it does sound funny! Have you told you dad yet? When I got mine stolen last month I didn't tell mine and when he rang me on my house phone the day after he said he sent me a text message and I was like '_Uhh really well I haven't checked my phone today'_…pure lies. I was thrown in the pool sooooo many times last summer fully clothes, once I actually had to ask the guys to let me take my shoes off because they were my last dry pair…ahhh good times!

**Charmedchic72:** You fell asleep watching When Harry met Sally… crazzzy girl! Haha but I guess if LL did it then it's fine for you too. I don't know this Kim Possible person but yes Spongebob is quite the legend. Hehe I have a little teddy of him my friend bought me, he's so damn cute. Haha yes Jonathan is a crappy name…my brother's called that but it's fine, he was bugging me at the time I was deciding on a name for this character. If you read my BTR fic the name Ethan is my cousin haha but I like the name and again he was with me when I was deciding on a name.

* * *

**9 – Conflicts & Confessions**

"_She looked mad" Kirk stated._

"_Shut up Kirk" Luke snapped as he followed Jennifer behind the curtain, having no doubts in his mind as to what exactly or who exactly Jennifer wanted to talk about._

When he climbed the stairs he found Jennifer standing with her arms folded across her chest outside the door of his apartment. He opened the door and she followed him in, not wanting the rest of the town to hear the argument.

"Look I know what this is about" he started.

"This is about you staying at Lorelai's last night"

"I fell asleep"

"Why were you even there? You were supposed to stay at _my_ house and then I find out from my brother that you spent the night with _her_"

"She hurt her leg; I was checking she was okay"

"So you slept there? It was a twisted ankle, hardly a big deal!"

"Lorelai is my friend and I fell asleep on her couch"

"Luke a bunch of people just invaded the place" Caesar screamed from down the stairs.

"I gotta work"

"We need to talk about this" Jennifer argued, not understanding why he couldn't see the problem. When she'd first moved there all she heard from town folk was about Luke and Lorelai and their current non-speaking stance. When they'd started dating he mentioned her from time-to-time and she'd sensed that he missed her. When she'd heard they were friends and speaking again she wondered if it would affect her relationship with Luke…she hoped it wouldn't.

"I don't see why you're so mad, I fell asleep" he reasoned, getting irritated.

"Luke" Caser yelled again.

"I gotta work we can talk about this later"

"Fine" she said in an irritated voice.

"I'll call you later" he muttered before walking out of his apartment and descending the stairs.

"Don't bother" she muttered to herself since Luke was out of earshot.

* * *

**Hours later... **

"Hey" Lorelai said when she came into the diner hours later, limping slightly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, surprised to see her walking around.

"I'm here for the love" she said rolling her eyes.

"You shouldn't be walking"

"I drove and I'm _fine_"

"You're limping" he said as if stating the obvious.

"Can I get some coffee, need to make sure I have sustenance for this overload of questioning" she asked.

"Here" he grumped as he poured her a cup of coffee.

"You look happy today, your neck still sore?"

"Jennifer found out about me staying the night, she's not happy" he said as he leaned across the counter so no-one else heard him. He didn't want gossip getting around town.

"Did you tell her we fell asleep?" she asked quietly sensing he wanted to keep it quiet.

"Yeah" he sighed as he fiddled with his cap.

"She'll calm down" Lorelai said, unable to help but feel a little happy that there was some problems with Luke and Jennifer.

"Maybe…" he sighed.

"You want me to talk to her?" Lorelai asked, the slight happiness disappearing when she saw how disappointed Luke seemed to be.

"Nah its fine" he said waving it off before he went to take someone's order. He felt strange talking to Lorelai about his relationship and he certainly didn't want her talking to Jennifer for him, it'd be too weird for him.

* * *

That evening Lorelai went out to get her mail from the mailbox and saw Jennifer walking up the street towards her house. She stopped and waited for her, deciding to ignore what Luke had said earlier that day. Luke deserved to be happy and after everything he'd done for her she felt she owed him something. The night before had been fun, but she didn't want him helping her then to result in him being sad about a possible break-up with Jennifer. 

"Hey" Lorelai said when Jennifer got close enough to hear.

"Hi" she replied.

"Been shopping?" Lorelai asked; feeling a little stupid since the woman was carrying paper bags full of groceries so it was a stupid question.

"Yeah, no food in the fridge"

"I know the feeling"

"Yeah well…"

"Listen I kinda wanted to talk to you about something" Lorelai started as she played with the mail in her hand. Wondering whether the big envelope she was holding were the leaflets she'd ordered for the Independence Inn which of course they weren't since they would be mailed to the Inn and not her home.

"Okay…"

"Luke told me about your little disagreement concerning last night"

"He did?" _'Of course he did' _she thought in annoyance, wondering if he told her _everything_ about them.

"Yeah well he was grumpy this morning, I mean even grumpier than usual so I figured something was up"

"Y'know no offence but that's between Luke and I"

"I know and I'm sorry but I just wanted to let you know that it was completely innocent, he was being a good friend and helping me out. Then we were watching 'When Harry met Sally' and he fell asleep, I don't think he even saw the part where Billy Crystal was running through New York to find Sally on New Years…which is really a pity. I love that part, also the fake orgasm part, he saw that part because he got very uncomfortable and excused himself to get a beer" Lorelai rambled and felt silly when Jennifer just stood there looking at her with a funny expression. _'She's cool as a cucumber; I bet that's why Luke likes her'_

"…Anyway my point is he likes you and that doesn't happen often" _'I've been friends with him for over five years, trust me I know'_ she thought to herself.

"Well I like him too" she admitted.

"Good okay…well you better get that ice-cream in before it melts" Lorelai said as she pointed to the Ben & Jerry's tub that was sitting at the top of one of her bags.

"Right, well bye"

"Night" Lorelai said as she walked back into her house, feeling good that she had just been selfless and helped Luke out…but then the twisting feeling in her stomach that had been haunting her for weeks returned.

* * *

Jennifer went into her house, going over what Lorelai had said to her, wondering whether she could see what was right in front of her. Luke liked Lorelai, she knew he liked her as well but that didn't change the fact that he thought about Lorelai too. The very few times Luke had called Jennifer by the wrong name hadn't gone completely unnoticed by her. Putting it to the back of her mind she picked up the phone she dialed the number that by then she knew by heart. 

"_Luke's"_ his voice answered gruffly.

"Hey"

"_Jennifer hi"_ he said in a surprised tone not expecting to hear from her.

"How's your day been?"

"_Not great" _he admitted.

"Mine either"

"_So…"_

"You want to come by when you're close up, we need to talk"

"_Sure"_

"Okay cool, see you soon"

"_Bye"_ he said as he hung up the phone with a small smile.

* * *

Luke walked to Jennifer's house carrying a to-go cup of coffee for her, and Lorelai's scarf that she had left in the diner when she had been in earlier that day. He crossed over to Lorelai's house and climbed her porch stairs. Knocking the door he waited a minute for Lorelai who came to the door wearing a white tank top and navy bottoms. 

"Hey come on in, I'm watching this old scary movie about a babysitter and this crazy guy keeps calling her and turns out he's _in_ the house with her and the kids" she rambled quickly as she left the door open for him to come in.

"Why do you have juicy on your butt?" he asked when she turned around.

"…Well Luke now you've revealed where your attention drifts whenever I turn by back" she teased and he just rolled his eyes hoping she didn't know how true that statement had been.

"Come on in"

"I just came to give you your scarf" he explained as he walked into the hallway.

"Are you going to see Jennifer?" she asked as she eyed the coffee in his hand.

"Yeah. Why is it so dark in here?"

"Thought my talk earlier worked" she muttered to herself but Luke heard her.

"You spoke to her earlier?"

"Yes, I mean I know you told me not to but she was there and I wanted to make it up for you helping me last night"

"What did you say?"

"Just that you staying the night was completely innocent and you really like her" Lorelai said, trailing off towards the end. Finding it hard to say it aloud but it was true, Luke was with someone else and she wasn't handling it very well at all.

"I do"

"I know" _'No need to rub it in'_

"Are you okay?" he asked knowing when there was something up with her.

"I'm fine"

"No you're not, what's wrong?" he asked stepping closer to her.

"I can't tell you"

"You can tell me anything" he said in a softer tone, putting a hand lightly on her arm.

"You'll hate me again"

"I never hated you" he stated, surprised that she ever thought he had.

"Never?"

"Well you annoyed me a lot by calling me Duke when we first met but other than that no" he said trying to understand where she was going with this. Lorelai took a step closer to him, unable to stop herself from wanting to be closer to him. His hand still sat on her arm and she couldn't deny the feelings she experienced when he touched her.

"How come you never asked _me_ out?" she asked quietly, not really believing she was actually asking him. When she heard the words come out of her mouth she felt even stupider than she already did.

"What?" Luke barely managed to get out as Lorelai took a step back from him, her face showing her embarrassment at her question.

"You should go" she said in a soft tone.

"What did that mean?"

"It's nothing"

"Lorelai just tell me" he said impatiently, wanting her to tell him if she was saying what he thought she was.

"I just wanted to know why you never asked me out, I mean we've been friends for five years. I see you everyday almost and then this new woman moves to town and within a few weeks your dating…why did you never ask me out? Am I that off-putting to you?"

"You're annoying, you drink way too much coffee, you reference way too many random things and eat the biggest pile of junk but you're _not_ off-putting…the opposite actually"

"Right…well glad to know I'm not repulsive to men" she replied as she tried to hide what she was really feeling. They stood in silence for a few moments that felt much longer than they actually were.

"Did you want me to ask you out?" he finally asked in a shy tone as he broke the deafening silence. Lorelai stared at Luke's face, studying it intently, the short two-day stubble and the light creases around his eyes…and then there were his eyes, the blue intense pools of perfection. Staring at her intently, waiting for an answer.

"I never used to think about it…but I would have said yes" she said breaking the eye contact to study the blue flannel he was wearing. It brought out the blue in his eyes even more and before she stopped herself she reached out and stroked the warm fabric, it was soft and comforting…it was Luke. She snuck a glance at his face after this admission, afraid to see his expression but still needing to know what it was. The intensity of it made her stomach do a few flips. He was looking at her the way she looked at a big piece of espresso-flavored cheesecake; ravenous, craving, like she was everything he ever desired and he wanted to consume her entirely.

When Lorelai felt Luke's hand grab hers she realized she had still been stroking his flannel the whole time. The way Luke looked at Lorelai made her heart race and the butterflies in her stomach started doing back-flips when he stepped towards her and moved the hand he was holding behind her back and turned them around. They were standing in her hallway with Lorelai's back against the wall and her breasts flattened against his chest. She knew he was going to kiss her as his face inched closer. She wanted him to kiss her.

Luke ran his other hand through her long, silky hair before he brushed his lips with hers. Lorelai closed her eyes and let the instant jolt of that first contact run through her. She moved her hands along his chest and behind his neck. She ran her fingers through the curls on the back of his head and slowly inched her way up until she reached the flap of his cap before throwing it aside. She slowly parted her lips and waited with bated breath as his tongue slid into her mouth. Their tongues engaged in a game of back and forth as they slid in out of each other's mouths. Lorelai's chest heaved as she lost herself in the kiss. Luke gently ran his hands along her back as she ran her hands along his chest. They stood their exploring each other as much as they could. They stood there, lips connected to lips; tongue crashing against tongue until they were both gasping for breath.

The kiss broke slightly, and in the moment where they had to decide if it was time to pull away or pull back in, Luke made the decision for them and captured her lips with his own. Lorelai suddenly had a surge of confidence, her nervousness from a few moments earlier gone completely, and she took the chance to pull his bottom lip between her teeth, biting it lightly. He let out a stifled moan, and she responded by releasing his lip and opening her mouth slightly. His tongue glided over hers immediately, as if it has been waiting for the chance to slip in.

When the phone rang it seemed to bring them back to reality and each pulled away somewhat reluctantly, realizing what they'd just done. His hands were still on her waist when they broke apart and Luke removed them quickly before he took a step back.

"I'm…I should go…sorry" he stuttered before he grabbed his cap which had been thrown to the floor and he left Lorelai in the hallway with Jennifer's to-go cup of coffee which by that time had gone cold just like the atmosphere in comparison with the heat from moments previously.

* * *

TBC 

SPOILERS

Ahhh I just want to say that I am in complete damn denial about the finale, WTF! Gotta say MOST DEPRESSING EPISODE _EVER_. Seriously where the hell has old-school GG gone! This season was such a let-down. We deserved a better finale than _that._ I felt like I needed an anti-depressant when it ended. Lauren Graham is the only reason I still watch that show. Alexis did an amazing job on the crying scene! I'm in denial about Lorelai having sex with Chris, I don't think she did and if she_ actually_ did then I will ignore it, pretend it never happened…ignorance is bliss!

And on that note- **REVIEW!**

For anyone reading BTR, I updated during the week and there's just _**three chapters left **_!**  
**


	10. The Aftermath

Hey guys, apologise for the lack of updates lately, exam time has been busy ! Had one yesterday, another two and a bunch of end of year stuff. Thankfully I will be done this Thursday so there will be more frequent updates...I'm not sure how many chapters left of this haha I always go over, but no more than two or three...I haven't decided. Thanks for everyone who's been reviewing, really appreciate it and keep going!

**Gwynnipigimadancerstar**: I guess the accent is painfully obvious to me because I'm from Ireland so it's weird to hear American accents in general but I was so used to Mrs Kim's Korean thing that when I saw the actress in an interview I thought it was pretty funny. Haha BTR into a trilogy…I think two is enough for everyone, I think you'd all get bored, I'm surprised I've managed to go on this long! The last two chapters I will try and make them very long ;). And yes I did meet the lovely Miss Graham last September. I'll put a link in my profile so you can read about it in my LJ. Have been tempted to change my name on FF to the same as this one so people don't get confused…although thus far I have been lazy and I haven't been on there much so maybe someday but until then yes I'm javaangel86. Yes I'm still ignoring the finale. Glad you liked the chapter and the kissing descriptions lol.

**Charmedchic72**: Haha I just put together from your last review that you were Sammi! I hadn't realized that before…duh me, I just put that together with the long descriptive reviews which often go off in funny tangents! Ahh Kirk is classic, poor dude. Y'know the guy who plays him, Sean Gunn isn't on as much now because he _"doesn't want to be typecast"._ Lol two words _"Too late"_…I wouldn't be able to see him as anyone other than Kirk from now on…or the guy who has the freakiest chest ever…ugh bad memories from his nekkid scenes. What happens to liars…just curious?

**Kat**: Hey! Glad you reviews ). Lol is your name Kathryn? If so we have the same name if we just swap the first letters…sorry it's late at night and I find that amusing. Ugh don't even talk to me about the finale or I may begin to rant yet again. Lol I like how people enjoy the descriptive kissing scenes, it is to make up for the lack of them on the show this season…grrr. And mate, if the guy on the bus is hot and you're reading BTR then go ahead, he may just enjoy the random kissing induced by BTR or this !

**Ocdwithlhg:** Yes I know I think after 9 it was about damn time. Although how many chapters was it in Annick's last one? That was crazy long. Or your WLB fics, ahh yess I was getting you back for your torture! I'm still waiting for a positive review from you, lol besides the 'I hate you' comments at the end. Btw gonna send you a cool song, Snow Patrol-Chasing cars, have you heard it?

**smileyGGfan**: The first season is amazing still even five years later. I love the episode 'That damn donna reed' also…and I was kinda a Max fan as well so I like 'Love, Ware & snow' but I'm totally an L/L fan over everything. The juicy butt thing I totally could see him saying, lol maybe him and Emily have more in mind than they think…nah probably not. I wish I could just write a GG episode of my favorite fics by my fave writers and actually see them act stuff out. Haha although if that was the case I would write dirtier fics for all you guys…a more HBO look on the LL relationship.

**Kasia:** Four words for you,_ "I told you so"_

**Wendy:** I also hate when some fics have LL jump right into bed, I mean sometimes it well written and actually fits and then in others it doesn't. Oh btw the two fics you were talking about before, it is the same person who writes them both! Oooh the purple tape, did you see Scott's KTLA appearance when he talked about that?...He was hot. There's new pics of him out from the CW upfronts at the weekend, so sexy. Check them out at I am still in denial about the whole thing with Chris and Lorelai. I think the writers will have to take into account the fan backlash and all the critics with the new seasons or they're going to lose their fans…the one's they already haven't. The new writers will have to be careful with the next season but I really hope it picks up! I agree the start of season six was great, they were already acting like a married couple, was so cute until the freakin' soap opera story of Luke's long lost daughter…give me a break! Lauren Graham holds up that show, she must have a damn strong back because in my opinion she's holding that show almost by herself! Although Scott has been great and Alexis did a great job in the finale too…and Kelly Bishop, I 3 her.

**Lindseyyy:** Hope you appreciate that I got this up so quickly after talking to you, starting writing it about two hours ago…ahh neglecting work is great isn't it! Sucks about your phone but I would have loved to have seen you being pushed in the pool…lol would be nice to see it from an audience POV for once instead of the one being thrown in the pool haha. Woot for your result in my quiz…apparently nearly everyone said I was more crazy than a tomboy…are they trying to tell me something? Haha I totally was like 'Why did she say to make sure I called my mum tomorrow' from your last review but then I remembered it was mother's day there, we have a different one here. Ours was about 2 months ago and I sent mother dearest flowers so I was in the good books lol. Speak to you soon !

* * *

**The Aftermath**

_When the phone rang it seemed to bring them back to reality and each pulled away somewhat reluctantly, realizing what they'd just done. His hands were still on her waist when they broke apart and Luke removed them quickly before he took a step back._

"_I'm…I should go…sorry" he stuttered before he grabbed his cap which had been thrown to the floor and he left Lorelai in the hallway with Jennifer's to-go cup of coffee. By that time it had gone cold just like the atmosphere in comparison with the heat from moments previously._

Lorelai stayed glued to the same spot but leaned against the wall for support…after that kiss she felt like she needed it. _'Luke just kissed me…I kissed Luke…oh my god my tongue was in Luke's mouth'_ was all that she could think of as she put a hand up to her lips which were still tingling. When her mother's voice sounded through the answering machine it slammed her back to reality.

'_What do I do now?'_ she wondered to herself as she took a deep breath and glanced at the door that Luke had just left out of, the kiss playing over and over in her mind.

* * *

Luke walked down Lorelai's porch steps, concentrating more on putting one foot in front of the other than he usually did. _'I just kissed Lorelai Gilmore…and she kissed me back'_ he thought to himself still remembering the feeling of having her lips on his, her fingers running through his hair and his hands running up and down her back. As he stood on the end of her driveway he glanced over at Jennifer's house which had the downstairs light on, he knew she was waiting for him but he turned and walked the opposite way anyway. Luke needed to process everything; he wondered how after six years of friendship he had kissed her…not that he hadn't always wanted to. It was just he couldn't help but feel guilty, he had a girlfriend and even though they weren't on the best terms it didn't mean he should kiss another woman, no matter how much he'd always wanted to. 

When he entered the dark diner he walked behind the counter and picked the phone up and dialed Jennifer's number.

"_Hello"_

"Hey Jen its Luke"

"_Oh hey, you coming over soon?" _she asked hopefully.

"Actually I can't…Jess, well he's sick so I'm going to stay and make sure he doesn't try and sneak out anyway"

"_Oh okay sure" _she replied not masking her disappointment well at all.

"Sorry"

"_Not your fault, tell him I hope he feels better"_

"I will"

_"So I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow then? Don't worry I won't be some dramatic…I know I over-reacted this morning"_

"Sure see you for breakfast"

"_Night Luke"_

"Bye" Luke said before hanging up and feeling a nagging feeling in his stomach. What was he supposed to do? He liked Jennifer, he enjoyed spending time with her and she was nice, but Lorelai…well she was Lorelai. When he walked up to his apartment he found Jess listening to music and reading a book, his usual.

"I thought you were staying out tonight?" he said turning down the music.

"Yeah well I'm not" he grumbled as he took a beer out of the fridge and gulped half it down in one go.

"Aw did she finally get her senses back Uncle Luke" Jess smirked.

"Shut up" he snapped and Jess just chuckled and put the music back on.

**

* * *

**

**The next morning…**

Lorelai woke up after a very restless night, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Luke, thinking about kissing Luke and that lead to more thinking, which lead to dreams about him. Although the kiss had been great she knew that Luke and Jennifer were still together. She wondered if he'd gone over to Jennifer's after he'd left the night before, which was where he had been heading anyway. _'What am I going to do?' _she wondered, not sure how to act around Luke after the kiss.

'_You're going to have to see him sometime"_ she argued to herself when Rory suggested going to Luke's. It had been difficult to go without Luke's coffee after the condom incident in the market…_'I wonder if he ever used them. Okay need to stop thinking like this'_ Lorelai argued trying to beat a mental image of Luke and Jennifer out of her head to stop her from slamming her head into a brick wall.

"Mom?" Rory asked for the third time but she seemed to be in some sort of daze.

"Sorry what?" she asked still distracted.

"Luke's are you ready to go?"

"Um sure give me a few minutes" Lorelai said going quickly up to her room and changing her top before she fixed her hair a little and applied lip gloss before coming back downstairs.

"Why are you so dressed up?"

"I'm not dressed up; there was a make-up mark on my shirt and I wanted to try out my new marshmallow lip gloss" Lorelai lied before practically shoving her daughter out the front door before an enquiry was set up for her choice of perfume.

* * *

The 5am wake-up call wasn't a welcome one for Luke the next morning, he felt like he had only got about ten minutes of sleep the whole night…which he probably had. All he could think about was what the kiss meant, had it meant anything to Lorelai?. Wondering if he should tell Jennifer but he knew if he did then it would be over. If he knew what Lorelai was thinking he knew he would be able to know more about what he felt, but he didn't have a clue what she was feeling or what she was thinking. 

The 6am crowd appeared as usual, Kirk had appeared and 5.30 so he could get his favorite table but Luke had left the door locked until 5.50 because the less crazy people he encountered that day the better. Every time the bell above the diner rang he found himself looking up, wondering who he would see first that day…Lorelai or Jennifer. After the about the fiftieth glance up at the door after the bell rang he got his answer.

"Hey" Jennifer said when she sauntered in.

"Hi" he said nervously.

"How's Jess?" she asked clearly concerned.

"Oh he's okay…think it was just a twenty-four hour thing" Luke lied, feeling bad about lying but he knew after the first lie he would have to tell another…and probably another.

"That's good. So Luke…?" she said putting her laptop that she had been carrying on the counter and walked around to meet him.

"Yeah?" he said as he grabbed two plates from Caesar.

"Sorry about yesterday, I was the psycho jealous girlfriend when I knew I shouldn't have been. You and Lorelai are friends and I knew that and you were just being a good friend... so I apologize for being such a bitch"

"You weren't a bitch" he said, the guilt he felt just increasing with every apologetic word she uttered.

"Well whatever I was I'm sorry. So are we okay?"

"We're fine" he responded quietly trying to make sure his facial expression didn't give away his guilt.

"Good" she said leaning up and pressing her lips against his softly.

"Mm food" he said when he pulled back from her a second later and motioned to the plates he was holding and she gave a understanding nod and walked back to her seat and sat down.

* * *

Lorelai who had been trying to hide her very obvious nervousness from her daughter as they walked to Luke's wondered how he would act when he saw her. Would there be darty eyes? Pretending nothing happened? Would he flirt with her? Would they banter as usual? There were so many questions she wanted answers to. And then the J-word was running through her mind, no not Jess this time… Jennifer. 

As the walked up the main street they approached Luke's diner and Lorelai tried to keep her gaze from moving to the window but she couldn't. She was anxious to catch a glimpse of Luke before he saw her. Unfortunately he didn't seem to be seeing anything or anyone else other than the J-word at that moment because he was kissing her…or she was kissing him…who the hell knew either way they were kissing. Lorelai felt her heart literally sink and the pain in her chest from the past few weeks was a whole lot stronger now that she knew what kissing Luke felt like.

"Rory you want to go to Weston's?" she said, her tone abrupt.

"Why? We're at Luke's"

"I know but it's so busy and I'm starving" Lorelai said even though she knew there had been empty tables.

"There are eight people in there"

"Yes well Kirk is one of them and I don't feel like any loons this morning"

"Okay what's wrong? Did you and Luke have a fight?"

"Rory I just want to go to Weston's today, we hardly ever go to breakfast there"

"…Because we like Luke's better, Weston's doesn't do pancakes"

"Rory c'mon"

"Fine" she muttered, knowing something had happened with her mom and Luke but she didn't know what. Rory knew she'd find out eventually so she just went along with her mom who didn't appear in the mood to talk about it.

* * *

The rest of the day Lorelai spent trying to keep busy but ended up taking her frustrations out on Michel and her other staff which resulted in Michel sulking at the front desk and the other staff looking at her with similar expressions as Emily Gilmore's maids. '_Why did he kiss me if he's with Jennifer?_' she asked herself constantly, getting annoyed at herself and at Luke for making her have these feelings. It wasn't fair, he kissed her and then he left. He just ran out of her house like a bat out of hell and the next morning all is fair in dandy with him and Jennifer again. '_Maybe he just kissed me because he was having issues with Jennifer…bastard' _she thought but knew Luke wasn't like that, he wouldn't risk their friendship but she was confused and didn't know what to think. 

When she heard phone ringing she looked up at Michel expectantly but realized it was coming from her cell phone and answered quickly without checking the caller ID.

"Hello"

"_Hey Lorelai its Jonathan"_

"Oh hi Jonathan how are you?" _'Damn why didn't I check my caller ID'_ she cursed to herself.

"_How's the ankle feeling?"  
_

"It's all good now, actually lying on the couch watching endless re-runs turned out to be pretty fun"

"_Well it's the best part of being sick…or injured"_

"I agree"

"_So since your ankle is better maybe we could try the date again. Don't worry I won't be so adventurous next time, dinner and a movie maybe?"_

"Uh sure but I'm actually pretty busy over the next little while so can I call you?"

"_Sure"_

"Alright well I'll let you know" she replied, feeling bad for blowing him off but she had bigger fish to fry.

"_Alright bye"_

"Bye" she said hanging up quickly and banging her head dramatically on the desk in front of her which she only got an even bigger headache from and incoherent mumblings from Michel…probably his usual French insults.

* * *

Luke hadn't seen Lorelai all day; he wondered if she was avoiding him again…he assumed she was. It was a rare occurrence that she wouldn't make an appearance at the diner unless she was mad at him and even then she tried to send Rory in to get it for her. Neither she nor Rory had been in all day…yes she was definitely avoiding him. 

Jennifer had hung around the diner for a couple of hours writing on her laptop, he hadn't minded but he knew if Lorelai had have come in that it would have been all kinds of awkward. He wondered if Jennifer had been able to sense his uneasiness around her that day. When she apologized that morning for her behavior he felt even worse than he already had. She was heading to New York the next day for a week for a sports writing job; he figured it would give him time to process everything.

As he was closing up he heard the bell on the diner door ring and assumed Jess was back from wherever he had disappeared to, yet again. Although he was very surprised when he walked out of the kitchen to find Lorelai standing by the door of the diner and when his eyes met hers he wasn't sure what he saw there. Her expression was unreadable and so was his.

"Hi" he said first.

"Hi" she said quietly as she made her way to the counter but found it hard to slip back into the same banter routine they had perfected so well over the years. She didn't want to go back to _that _normal anymore; she didn't want to be just an annoying customer on the other side of the counter to him anymore.

"Coffee…to-go" she said breaking the awkward silence.

"Sure" he replied in no mood to argue with her about her consumption of coffee at that time of night. Although he admitted to himself that the fact that she was getting it 'to-go' bothered him, obviously she didn't want to stick around to talk.

"So…" she started hoping he would continue.

"So…"

"Anything new?" _'Apart_ _from kissing me that is'_

"No, you?"

"Well Michel is not talking to me; my staff thinks I'm the new and improved Emily Gilmore…" she said trying to laugh but it came out as an hollow sound.

"So not a good day?" _'Probably regretting last night'_

"You could say that" she muttered.

"Here" he said and lifted the cover off the doughnuts; put one on a plate and pushed it over to her. Just like he had done the last time she had come into the diner in an upset mood.

"I don't think a doughnut is going to fix things this time" she said quietly lifting her gaze to stare at him.

"I'm sorry for last night" he said biting the bullet and bringing up the elephant in the room.

"You're sorry?"

"Yeah, I didn't…I mean I shouldn't…"

"Why did you kiss me?" she interrupted needing an answer to ease her mind. Needing to know if it was just a spur of the moment thing or if there had been more behind the kiss…it seemed it had been more than just a moment of weakness. It felt like years of built up sexual tension and frustration had exploded and produced the kiss…the kiss that as cliché as it seemed made her feel weak at the knees and made her lips tingle from just the memory.

"I don't know" he lied.

"You don't know? After six years you kiss me and all you can say is _'I don't know?'_" she asked dubiously, trying to read his mind but unfortunately he had his poker face on.

"You kissed me back!" he countered.

"You started it!" she said louder and realized how stupid they both must have sounded.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked after a moment of silence as he put the cloth down that he was holding and walked out from behind the counter, stopping just a few feet from her.

"I want a reason Luke! I want a reason why you kissed me and why less than twelve hours later I see you kissing Jennifer. I want a reason why I have a pain in my chest whenever I saw you with your lips on hers. I want a reason why you ask her out after a few weeks of knowing her when I've been standing in front of you every day for _six_ years and I want a god damn reason why I miss you even when you're right beside me!" She said her voice increasing in volume and fear with each word. Her eyes welled up slightly with tears as all the feelings started to overflow and Luke was standing looking at her with a face of disbelief. He was so close…but yet so far.

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_Keep those reviews coming... you know you want to!_  



	11. Endings & New Beginnings

**11- Ending & New Beginnings**

"_What do you want me to say?" he asked after a moment of silence as he put the cloth down that he was holding and walked out from behind the counter and was just a few steps from her._

"_I want a reason Luke! I want a reason why you kissed me and why less than twelve hours later I see you kissing Jennifer. I want a reason why I have a pain in my chest whenever I saw you with your lips on hers. I want a reason why you ask her out after a few weeks of knowing her when I've been standing in front of you every day for six years and I want a damn reason why I miss you even when you're right beside me!" She said her voice increasing in volume and fear with each word. Her eyes welled up slightly with tears as all the feelings started to overflow and Luke came out from behind the counter. He was so close…but yet so far. _

Luke just stared at her for a few seconds, his facial expression had changed to one of disbelief and then he started to feel angry inside.

"You've been standing here for six years? Was that before or after Max and Christopher or even that guy who looked like he just got out of high school? You told me to give it a go with Rachel and then you got engaged so when_ exactly_ was I supposed to ask you out? So now when there are no men in your life and Christopher has settled down you decide you want me?"

"That's not how it was Luke" Lorelai said in barely a whisper not believing that he thought that was why she was here.

"Yeah…"

"It's not!"

"I was always just the guy who served the coffee for you or your fix-it man"

"You're my_ best_ friend Luke you know that." Lorelai said before they were both interrupted by the bell above the diner. Jennifer stood there with a bottle of wine and a questioning expression.

"Hi" Jennifer said and looked between the two of them, wondering what she just walked in on.

"Should I…?" she started.

"I was just going" Lorelai said giving Jennifer a fake smile before she left through the door and didn't look back as she walked up main street towards her house. _'I though it had meant something to him' _she thought, not knowing if she would ever be able to show her face at Luke's again. He'd known her for years, and if he felt anything more than friendship for her, he would have made a move by now…why didn't she think about that before she went to see him? The kiss had been a slip and that was it.

When she got home Rory was sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Hey mom, you still want to do the movie marathon?" Rory asked looking up from her book.

"No hun, I think I'm just going to go to bed"

"What's wrong?" she asked as Lorelai started to climb the stairs.

"Nothing I'm just tired"

"Mom you've been acting weird for days"

"And that differs from normal how…" Lorelai joked and Rory just rolled her eyes at her mother's avoidance.

**

* * *

10 minutes later… **

Lorelai was lying on top of the covers when she heard the knock on her door and she quickly wiped her eyes.

"Mom what happened?" Rory asked, worried about her mom's behavior.

"Nothing… I was just stupid"

"Why?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow, I just don't want to think about it anymore tonight"

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah babe I just need to sleep but we'll talk tomorrow" Lorelai said still keeping her back to her daughter so as to not let her see how upset she really was.

**

* * *

At the diner… **

"Everything okay?"

"It's fine" he muttered before walking back behind the counter and started wiping the worktop. Jennifer stood watching him for a minute as he took his frustrations out on the counter; she thought he was wiping it so hard that he'd rub a hole through it.

"Did something happen between you two?"

"No" he replied quickly.

"I'm not stupid Luke" she sighed and took a seat at the counter.

"It's nothing"

"Just tell me"

"Um…well Lorelai, she…"

"She has feelings for you doesn't she" Jennifer said to help Luke out.

"I think so" _'I know so'_

"And you have for her too?"

"I don't know" he said meeting Jennifer's gaze_. 'Yes you do'_ he told himself.

"Luke you need to decide who you want because it seems like you have feelings for her too" Jennifer said, tired of feeling like there were three people in their relationship. Luke just fidgeted with the bills on the counter because he couldn't really disagree with her.

"You need to choose right now; me or Lorelai?" she said interrupting his fidgeting.

"I don't like ultimatums" he stated firmly.

"Neither do I but I'm tired of feeling like there's three people in this relationship"

"Lorelai is my_ best_ friend" he argued.

"And _I'm _your girlfriend"

"You really want me to choose between you and my best friend?"

"Yes"

"Fine then I choose Lorelai, I always will" he said leaning against the counter.

"I guess that's that" Jennifer said in an irritated voice as he picked the wine off the counter and walked out of the diner, slamming the door behind her.

Luke went up to his apartment after Jennifer left, his mind a blur after everything that had happened that night. Lorelai had actually told him that she felt something, that's what she'd said wasn't it? Jess was playing his music which meant it was too loud in his apartment for Luke to even think straight so he went back down to the diner. _'She was jealous'_ he kept telling himself, and he couldn't help but grin slightly when he thought of her feeling the same way that he had when he saw her with someone else. The grin didn't stay on his face too long when he thought of Lorelai's face before she left the diner, she looked hurt…she was hurt. Luke Danes had hurt Lorelai Gilmore, something he'd told himself he wouldn't do.

'_Why am I still here?'_ he wondered to himself as he sat on one of the diner chairs with his beer thinking of Lorelai. She'd come to the diner and told him how she'd felt and he'd thrown it back in her face, been angry and her for her honesty. Before he could think more about it he was walking quickly to her house, his hands dug deeply in his pockets and knocking on her front door.

"Rory hey…is your mom here?" he asked when Rory answered the door.

"Yeah but she's just gone to bed" Rory shrugged, wondering if Luke had something to do with her mom's sudden mood.

"Is she asleep? Can I maybe…"

"Umm I don't know she's pretty upset about something"

"Please Rory I'll be quick" Luke said, not wanting to leave without talking to Lorelai. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

When Lorelai heard another knock on her bedroom door she sighed impatiently, wishing Rory would just leave her to stew in her own stupidity for the night.

"Rory I'll talk to you tomorrow" Lorelai called out.

"It's not Rory" Luke said as he pushed the door open and saw her lying on top of the bed. Lorelai jumped slightly and she wiped her eyes quickly and turned to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a hurtful tone.

"I wanted to see how you were" '_And apologize'_

"I'm fine" she lied unable to even look him in the eye.

"I didn't mean to get annoyed…I was just surprised"

"Surprised about what?"

"About what you said, I thought you wanted to forget about the…" he said trailing off.

"…the kiss Luke, admitting it is the first step" Lorelai said rolling her eyes and bringing her knees up to her chest. Luke sat down on the edge of the bed and played with the side of the duvet cover which had pictures of three cartoon girls on it. He figured they liked buttercups since that was what was written above one of their heads.

"Jennifer and I aren't together anymore"

"Oh" _'What the hell does that mean?_'

"Yeah, Jennifer asked me to choose between you and her"

"And you chose me?"

"Well I wouldn't choose anyone over my best friend?" he said and caught her gaze.

"That's me right, your best friend?" Lorelai replied smiling a little when she heard him echoing what she had referred to him earlier as.

"Yes"

"What does this mean?" Lorelai said unsurely but instead of answering Luke moved towards her.

"What are you doing?" she asked quickly pulling back with a puzzled expression.

"Would you just sit still" he muttered and she did. It had taken six years but Luke had decided to finally step up and take what he wanted. Lorelai. His lips brushed across hers cautiously at first as he waited for some reaction from her, the tiny bit of fear still present in him that she would run if he moved too fast._'Slow isgood'_ he told himself.Although just the soft contact of his lips on hers was enough to drive him crazy with anticipation of what else her lips could do. When he opened his eyes to watch herface and seeher expressionwas presently surprised by the warmth in her eyes, she was looking at him in a way he'd always wanted her to.

Lorelai had kissed Luke before, well only twice but his kiss still managed to make her feel weak in the knees which is why she was glad she was sitting down when he kissed her. The two of them sat in a palpable silence, their faces just centimeters from each other trying to understand what was going on between them. Lorelai was trying to figure out what this meant for their friendship and Luke was trying to understand what Lorelai was thinking. It was her turn to make a move; Lorelai knew that and so she leaned closer to Luke and pressed her lips against his softly at first as she waited for him to react. When he did he put an arm around her and one hand sat at the small of her back and pulled her closer to him.

Luke and Lorelai knew one thing, they wanted more than gentle kisses, they wanted more of the passionate kisses they'd experienced the night before. Luke's hands locked around Lorelai's waist and pulled her on top of him, he barely noticed his baseball cap being knocked off his head as she put her arms around his neck. The softness from previous kisses had dissipated and only passion, need and six years of pent up sexual frustration remained as their tongues engaged in a game of back and forth.

Whenever they were bothstruggling for breath Lorelai separated them and moved her lips to his cheek, then to his ear which she lightly sucked on making him growl and she smiled to herself. She kissed down his jaw and stopped at his at his lips and kissed them once again, finding it hard not to kiss him, anywhere, and everywhere.

The two of them pulled back from the kiss but didn't move position when they heard Rory's voice at the door.

"Is everything okay?"

"Um yeah it's fine"

"I'm going to stay at Lane's" Rory called; having decided that she didn't want to be mentally scarred for life which she thought she may be if she stayed there.

"Okay hun see you in the morning" Lorelai called.

Luke stared up at Lorelai, her eyes, her chin, her nose, her very talented mouth…She was real. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was but he literally could not speak. He couldn't quite allow himself believe that this was happening.

"Is this really happening?" he finally managed to get out.

"I hope so" she said playing with one of his hands and dragging her fingers through his.

"Six years I've wanted this" he admitted.

"Well we need to make up for the wasted time" she whispered against his lips and all he could do was kiss her with all the passion he had inside.

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**Review por favor :)**

Any of you who read **BTR 2**, decided on another **2 **chapters although one will be short I just needed it to tie some loose ends up!

Apologies to** CastingAspirations** for the mix-up, I hope no hard feelings!


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